A 14-month-old dog, who was shockingly abandoned and discovered in the Grand Union Canal, is now on the lookout for a new forever home after being rescued by The Mayhew Animal Home.

The Staffie cross, named Abbey by Mayhew staff, was found very underweight, soaking wet and shivering in the canal in Park Royal, North West London, by a member of the public.

After alerting the local dog warden, they collected poor Abbey and brought her straight to The Mayhew, where our Vet Team gave her a thorough health check.

The Mayhew’s Head of Animal Welfare, Zoe Edwards, said: “We were alerted to poor Abbey by the local dog warden, who informed us it looked like she had been thrown into the canal as she was found soaking wet and freezing cold.”

“She had no collar on, hadn’t been microchipped, underweight and sadly it looked like this 14-month-old had already been used for breeding. Unfortunately we see a lot of unwanted dogs like Abbey who have been bred purely to be sold for profit or used as a breeding machine. When they end up injured, unsold or no longer wanted, some irresponsible breeders abandon and dump them. We ask that owners think responsibly about where they get their pets from and consider adopting a rescue dog.”

“At The Mayhew we help hundreds of people in crisis situations every year, and we wish whoever had abandoned poor Abbey had alerted us or another rescue shelter. We are here to assist and advise on the best course of action for the animal, no matter what the problem is, we absolutely do not judge.”

After a full health check our Vet Team discovered that poor Abbey was also suffering from a chronic ear infection.

Our Head Vet, Dr. Ursula Goetz MRCVS, GP Cert (SAS) CVO, said: “We noticed that Abbey’s right ear was irritating her and she scratched it a lot. On further inspection, we discovered that Abbey had a very narrowed ear canal, so much so that hardly any air was able to get through the ear canal anymore. This usually happens through chronic ear infections, which causes the body to react with inflammation which will, over time, narrow the ear canal more and more until it becomes impossible to treat the ear other than with surgery.”

“Abbey had to have a Total Ear Canal Ablation (TECA) and a Ventral Bulla Osteotomy (VBO) on her right ear, which means that she had to have her whole ear canal removed and her middle ear flushed and cleaned out. The surgery will help take away the constant discomfort and soreness in her ear. If left untreated, the chronic infection can over time even cause damage to her sense of balance, meaning she might have developed a permanent head tilt to the extent of falling over and not being able to walk in a straight line. Thankfully this risk is now removed and Abbey is on the road to recovery.”

“Despite clearly having been in pain and uncomfortable for a long time, it is just remarkable what a nice character Abbey is.”

Thankfully after receiving lots of medical attention and love from our Kennels Team, Abbey is recovering well from the surgery and has managed to get back on her paws, wagging her tail and showing off her friendly nature.

Now we are on a mission to find her a loving new home and the happily ever after that she so deserves.

Once Abbey has been neutered and is fully recovered, she will be ready to find her forever home.

When she’s ready for a home, our Adoption Team will put Abbey on our website. You can sign up to our Dogs by Email service on the bottom of the page by visiting here to receive an alert whenever we add a new dog to our website, including Abbey.

Alternatively, if you are not able to adopt, please consider taking part in one of our fundraising events such as abseiling the ArcelorMittal Orbit in Stratford, London to support and raise vital funds for The Mayhew Animal Home.

So why not take part in an Abseil for Abbey or for any of our other dogs and cats that are still looking for their forever homes.

Every year our Animal Welfare Officers and Community Vet Clinic respond to hundreds of animals in need, please consider a donation to help them help more animals like Abbey. Alternatively you can make an instant donation by texting ‘WOOF13 £5’ or your chosen amount (up to £10) to 70070.