A puppy has finally found her 'forever home' after undergoing an illegal procedure to crop some of her ears, suffering the 'worst case' of cropping that an animal rescue charity has ever seen.
Four-month-old Martha, a Dobermann, who's tail has also been cropped, had to recover from the ordeal at the vets before finally being signed off by the vet to join her new family, StokeonTrent Live reports.
She was taken in by Cheddleton-based Dobermann Rescue UK after her ears had become so badly infected after the botched practice that they couldn't be saved. The charity said it was one of the 'worst cases' they'd ever seen in the country.
Dobermann Rescue UK chair Liz Price says Martha is now recovering well from her ordeal and, due to being too young to live in the charity's Bucknall kennels, she is currently being looked after at home by Liz before joining her new family.
Liz, who has three Dobermanns of her own, said: "The operation has gone really well and she is not at all fazed by it. It hasn't slowed her down and she is recovering very well. The vet managed to save a small part of her ears and she looks like a little teddy bear now.
"She will go to her new 'forever home' on Wednesday with owners who have been on our waiting list and already have another Dobermann for her to play with. They are delighted to give her a home.
"Nobody wants to put a puppy through an operation and in an ideal world she would still have the ears she was born with, but it has worked out the best we could hope for. This is a very happy ending to her story."
Ear cropping and tail docking is illegal in the UK and in many European countries unless it is carried out by a veterinary surgeon for medical reasons.
The RSPCA recently launched a crackdown on ear cropping after recording the highest number of complaints relating to the illegal practice in 2021 since records began in 2015. The charity said it had seen a 1,243 per cent increase in the number of reports of illegal mutilation of dogs’ ears between 2015 and 2021.
Anyone who would like to contribute to Martha's veterinary care can do so on Dobermann Rescue UK's Facebook page.
