I saved this dog’s life – now he’s a prize-winner

2:00pm Tuesday 28th December 2010
A MAN who rescued a dog which had been thrown out of a car and was close to death has turned him into a winning pet.

Tony Quarterman spotted the white German shepherd in a field near to his Worcestershire home in February last year after being alerted by a neighbour who thought that Mr Quarterman’s dog, the same breed, had escaped.

When he found his dog – eight-year-old Sadie – safe at home, he realised the dog spotted by the neighbour was a stray and needed rescuing. Retired haulier Mr Quarterman, who lives in Great Witley, near Worces-ter, said: “When I saw him he was in quite a state. But when I went up to try to get him, he walked away from me and I couldn’t catch him.

“He was very nervous and I just couldn’t quite get hold of him.

“Someone who lived in the village said they had seen him being dumped from a car – the owner just didn’t want him. I had seen over the weeks that the dog had gradually begun to deteriorate in his health.

“I had walked hundreds of miles trying to get him. I would go out and get my Worcester News from the shop and then walk around the village trying to find him.

“We knew something had to be done. With the lambing season coming up, I thought that somebody was going to shoot him.”

Mr Quarterman, aged 70, enlisted the help of lengthsman Chris Jones, along with Hollytrees Animal Rescue in Hollywood, near Birming-ham, who set a trap for the animal.

It took just one night to catch the dog, who they named Casper.

A vet who examined him said he only had a few days to live because he was so thin, weighing just 9kg.

After a month at the animal rescue centre, where he was treated for mange, Mr Quaterman’s daughter Jo-anne persuaded her dad to take him in.

“She didn’t want to leave him there and he can put on a good sad face when he wants to,” said Mr Quarterman. “I decided if he got on well with Sadie, then we would have him, and the first time they met they were like the best of friends.”

Now weighing a healthy 45kg, Casper recently won awards at a national dog show in Perry Barr, Birmingham.

“I was just so proud of him,” said Mr Quarterman. “How could anyone throw a dog like him out of the car?

“I can’t understand the extent of their cruelty and he nearly didn’t survive, but it is great to see him now.”
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http://www.halesowennews.co.uk/news/worcestershire/8758799.I_saved_this_dog___s_life_____now_he___s_a_prize_winner/