Appeal after dog found dead in Mexborough canal

Juno, a six-year-old male rescue Husky, went missing from his home in Denaby Main at about 7pm last Monday after a gate was accidently left off the latch by a visitor.

The owner’s other dog, another Husky called Rolo, got out at the same time but came back on his own at around 10.30pm.

Despite search efforts going on into the early hours and the following day, Juno could not be found.

He was spotted by a man walking his dog in the canal behind Pastures Lodge on Pastures Road at around 7am last Tuesday morning and taken to a vet’s.

RSPCA inspector Sandra Dransfield said: “We got a call to say a dog walker and another man had pulled Juno’s body out of the water.

“I had to go and tell the family, which was one of the worst things I've ever had to do.

“This was a much-loved family pet and they are of course, extremely distressed.

“Their other dog, who I'm told was inseparable from Juno, is very subdued.”

Juno had a block of wood, approximately four or five inches long, between his teeth, which he had bitten down on with force.

“He was definitely alive when the wood went into his mouth, but how that came to happen, and how he ended up in the canal, is impossible to say at the moment,” said Ms Dransfield.

“We can’t discount the fact that this may have been the result of a deliberate act of cruelty.”

The inspector said the dog had no medical problems and was a reasonable weight.

Aside from the piece of wood in his mouth and resulting injuries, there was no sign of obvious trauma.

Anyone who saw anything they think might help our investigation should call the RSPCA inspector appeal line on 0300 123 8018 and ask to leave a message.