Three years. Over 1,000 days, trapped in a tiny kennel
That's how long Romanian shepherd, Bernie, spent trapped in a kennel so small he could barely lie down. All around him other animals were enduring horrifying conditions - many crammed 15 to a kennel. Some of them were seriously ill.
The smell was overpowering. Dogs were piled on top of each other. In among all this was Bernie. He was in a tiny kennel on his own in almost total darkness - a huge Romanian shepherd crammed into a space barely big enough to hold a terrier. His fur was completely overgrown, like he had never had a day of care in his life. We later found out that he had only been taken out of his cage to be groomed three times in three years.
After all that time trapped, Bernie was extremely distressed. Our vet had to sedate him, but it still took six of us to carry him to safety. Bernie was just one of many animals rescued that day.
Bernie has now made a full recovery thanks to the loving and dedicated care of the RSPCA animal care teams. It just goes to show what you can make happen when you help fund an extraordinary rescue.