A DOG lover who caught a stray says she is disgusted the “friendly” animal was put down.

Margaret Weatherhead, of Springer House Lane, Emley Moor, only handed the animal over to Kirklees Council wardens after receiving guarantees efforts would be made to save it.

As reported in the Examiner on July 10, the council destroyed it a week later, despite offers from animal welfare groups to retrain and rehome it.

Council officials claimed it was out of control.

But Ms Weatherhead said that was untrue.

She said: “I was shocked to find out what had happened.

“It was quite a friendly dog. I could touch its face, I could give it a cuddle. I even gave it a little kiss on the nose. It wasn’t aggressive at all.

“In time this dog could have been rehomed. I would never have caught this dog had I known what would happen to it.

“I think it’s disgusting.”

Ms Weatherhead, who has 40 years’ experience of keeping dogs, said she had called council wardens out, but they had been unable to catch the stray.

Eventually she used one of her own bitches, which was in season, to entice it into her kitchen.

Wardens then took it to Springfield Kennels in Ossett, near Wakefield.

Ms Weatherhead said: “It was terrified – of course it was, it was in shock and trapped in a stranger’s kitchen.

“I appreciate some dogs will have to be put down, but I was told it would have a fair chance.

“If all that was going to happen to it was that it was going to be put down, we have got farmers down here who could have shot it ages ago, without me having to go through all the hassle of catching it.”

Halfway Home Dog Rescue, based in Newark, Nottinghamshire, had offered to take the dog in and appoint a behaviour expert to work with it and try to find it a new home.

Val Hosegood, who runs Halfway Home, said: “Knowing the background to this dog’s death has made it even more galling. It has lost its life because of human cruelty. It was never given a chance.”

When asked for a comment, the council stood by its original position that the dog was a hopeless case.

A spokesman said: “Our dog warden service has a job to do, and they do everything they can with the kennels to find new homes for dogs, but at the end of the day if dogs are unclaimed, or cannot be found new homes, they have to be humanely put to sleep.

“That is the last resort.”