Lost dog 'fell off the back of a lorry'
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Your support makes all the difference.A boxer dog which fell off the back of a lorry after a 1,300-mile trip from Spain is being made an internet star in a bid to reunite it with its owner.
Angel was found in the car park of the B&Q store in Taunton, Somerset, and handed into animal welfare officers who thought she was just another stray.
But they were shocked to discover she was microchipped and her home was listed at an address in Malaga, Spain.
Officers at Somerset County Council's animal health and welfare team said Angel, a nine-year-old red and white boxer, is thought to have illegally entered the UK in a lorry.
They have been trying to locate her owner but so far have had no success.
So they have made a film about her story called 'Angel Falls off the Back of a Lorry' and posted it on YouTube, hoping to attract worldwide publicity and that her owner will come forward.
Helen Gloyn, senior animal health and welfare inspector, said the dog was taken to the RSPCA West Hatch centre near Taunton by a member of the public who found her in the car park.
"We made some inquiries with the local police and Defra but have been unable to trace anybody.
"The RSPCA made further inquiries and found her microchip and that she was first registered to an address in Malaga.
"It is likely that Angel may have been in the UK for some time and was imported into the country in compliance with legislation but in the absence of that information we have to consider the chance that she may have come here on a lorry from Europe or further afield."
Angel is now being cared for by the South Western Boxer Club during her six-month quarantine.
They said they will look to re-home her if she is not reunited with her owner.
Glenda Tibbots, secretary of the South Western Boxer Club, said: "I am really pleased that we have been able to help Angel.
"When she came to us she was very thin and had black patches on her side with no hair there.
"She has had an operation to remove a big lump on her eye and is putting on weight.
"She is improving all the time and her hair is growing back.
"She has absolutely no tail at all, not even a short boxer tail, but I am told that they do that in Spain.
"She is an absolutely super dog, she is so sweet and needs a one-to-one home so at the end of the six months we will try to find a new home for her.
"I'd like to thank all those that have made donations to us, as without these we wouldn't have been able to support Angel's time in quarantine."
Councillor Anthony Trollope-Bellew, Somerset County Council's Cabinet Member for Environment, said: "Somerset County Council takes the welfare of animals very seriously.
"When Angel was found she was in poor condition and malnourished.
"It is to the credit of all organisations involved and the successful partnership working that Angel is now on the road to recovery."
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