Four dead dogs have been found in plastic bags in a lake in southeast London. A search for the owners is underway after the Bulldogs were pulled from Southmere Lake in Thamesmead.
Volunteers from the group Missing Paws UK, which searches for missing dogs, said it had received a call about black bags floating in the water. Director Vicki Hudson thought the bags suspicious and called the police who sent a Marine Policing Unit to recover the animals.
The dogs are believed to be a one-year-old Bulldog puppy and three adult extra large Bulldogs approximately two years old. Properly certified and healthy bulldog pups can sell for up to £5,000.
Another puppy was also found on Sunday at the other side of the lake but it is not believed to be connected. Ms Hudson said the reason for the dogs being dumped will likely only emerge after speaking with the owners following the find at 9pm last Saturday.
She said: “Unless we can locate the person who put them in there and find out what the story was, or unless someone comes forward and says my neighbour had dogs that have disappeared. We are still trying to do background traces for owners. The chips were not flagged as stolen. There is nothing obvious.
“How or why they ended up in the water I don’t know. I am banging my head against the wall. They are expensive dogs so if you are breeding, the average pup would be £4,000-£5,000, depending on the blood line and what it had in certificates and the dog was in good condition.
“If you were a breeder, why would you get rid of your stock? And if you are an owner, there are places you can take your dog to.”
She added: “We have got to wait for the post-mortem but I think they were dead before they went into the water. There were no obvious signs that they had struggled in the bags.”
The 51-year-old also said another dog had been found on Thursday buried in a shallow grave and that they had found the puppy on the other side of the lake after another call from the public. She said: “We don’t think that is connected because it has been presented in a different way. But people are disposing of pets in that lake and that is something we need to keep an eye on.
“We have been going around five years now. Every few months we see a body pop up. A member of the public will call us and say they have seen a body covered or partially covered in a bag. In this area it has gotten more regular in the past six months. I’m not sure whether that is deprivation or someone breeding dogs, I don’t know.”
She said that people would sometimes bury their dogs in places where they liked to go for walks, adding: “It’s illegal, but you can understand why they do it. This situation feels different, it feels like there is some sort of criminal element, a gang breeding dogs or a revenge attack.”
The Met Police has said it is waiting for the results of the post-mortem before making any further decisions or comments. Any potential witnesses who were near Bazelgette Way by Southmere Lake on Saturday evening are urged to speak with either the Met Police or Missing Paws UK.
Ms Hudson added: “If a person was to find themselves in financial difficulty, then please reach out to us or the RSPCA or charity kennels, but don’t do this. It is not the right way.”
