‘Lost for words’: volunteers find five dead dogs in bags in a lake

Five dead dogs have been found in plastic bags dumped into a lake in Thamesmead.

Police are investigating allegations of animal cruelty after four dogs were recovered from the lake in Southmere Lake in Bazalgette Way, Thamesmead at around 8.50pm on Saturday.

Volunteers from the Missing Paws UK organisation attended the lake after a member of the public spotted three floating sacks which appeared to have something inside them.

The Marine Policing Unit was sent following reports of the “suspicious” looking bag.

The unit recovered four plastic bags which had what appeared to be American Bulldog type dogs inside.

Vicki Hudson, director of the Missing Paws UK team, attended the lake and said she was “lost for words” at what she saw.

She said: “From a volunteer’s point of view, this is beyond anything we have seen before.

“Sometimes people bury their dogs in parks or favourite places they used to go walking, which is a problem, but nothing as bad as this.

“We’re seeing an increase of dumping live animals because people can no longer afford to look after them in the cost of living crisis, but nothing like this.”

In a Facebook post Ms Hudson said: “Police arrived and after assessing the scene called for extra resources in the form of their colleagues at the Marine Policing Unit.

“They were able to deploy a small boat to remove one bag to the edge and used extendable hook poles to pull in the others.

“On examination the contents of the four bags revealed three adult Bully XLs approximately two years old, and one Bully puppy approximately one year old.

“This is an extremely sad incident for all those involved but I thank the members of the public who made the initial call. Without you we wouldn’t have known.”

The dogs have been removed and transported to a veterinary practice while an ongoing joint Metropolitan Police and RSPCA investigation takes place.

A four-week-old puppy was then recovered from the same lake on Sunday, although it is believed to be a separate incident.

Missing Paws UK were contacted again by another member of public who had spotted a floating bag, said Ms Hudson on Facebook.

She posted: “With assistance from members of Swan patrol and the use of a small boat we were able to recover the bag and bring it to shore.

“We recovered an Asda insulated shopping bag which was sealed and semi-watertight containing a Puma shoe box. Inside the shoe box was the body of a small puppy that had been carefully wrapped into a parcel with a cloth-like material.

“Please do not dispose of deceased pets in the lake as this causes distress to even the most hardened of volunteers, and we have to deal with the outcomes.”

Ms Hudson said the puppy had been taken to a crematorium.

Any witnesses or anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101 or contact via Twitter @MetCC. Please quote CAD 6661/24SEP

Pictured top: The Marine Policing Unit recovers dogs from Southmere Lake (Picture: Missing Paws UK)