A campaign has been launched to save a dog who was allegedly raped by a human and then left to die.
Olive was found in Hillingdon, West London, with a prolapsed uterus and her intestines hanging out in April 2016.
Her injuries would suggest she had been raped by a human, however campaigners have emphasised that the cause of her injuries have never been fully confirmed.
Olive has been microchipped, however the person registered as her owner said they had sold her on because they didn’t want her.
At the time when she was found as a stray, it was deemed she was a pit bull-type dog and was due to be euthanised after a magistrate issued a destruction order in February 2017.
Now, a group of campaigners are desperately trying to save Olive, saying she isn’t a pit bull-type and shouldn’t be put down but be a given to a good home instead.
Dog trainer Alexis Atchison, who helped launch the campaign, said:
We want her to live a normal life like any other dog. This is just ridiculous.
A loving home awaits her but she’s not allowed to go to that loving home. She’s a great dog, a perfect dog. She’s been held prisoner for over two years.
The 36-year-old added:
Olive is the nation’s dog. She’s not just one person’s dog. She is loved by so many.
She’s got an army behind her, there are so many people fighting for her.
Solicitor James Parry is representing the campaigners and he believes the dog may have been used before breeding before being abandoned.
The case recently reached the High Court, where it was agreed that the campaigners should be allowed to be considered Olive’s new keeper, after two years of going through the courts.
Campaigners managed to raise more than £16,000 through crowdfunding by setting up a Facebook group called Olive’s Fight Against BSL.
Alexis said the group have already spent £10,000 on the initial round of legal bill as well as Olive’s vet costs.
It’s impossible to comprehend why anyone would want to mistreat and abandon a beautiful creature like Olive, but it’s fair to say my faith in humanity is somewhat restored by the hard work and dedication the campaigners have put into saving her.
Here’s to hoping she gets the loving and caring home she deserves.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.