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Meet Gladys, an American and English Bulldog cross who was found in Gladstone Park in London. She was discovered in the park tied to a bench, abandoned and no longer wanted.

On arrival at The Mayhew, it was apparent she had given birth to numerous litters of puppies and we suspect she had been used as a breeding machine. She was overweight, her paws were red and raw, and she had a large, painful growth on her reproductive organs.

“Gladys was completely shut down and showed no emotion at all,” explains Janet Nobbs, who looked after Gladys. “She was so sad and didn’t know what to do when we showed her affection.”

Gladys with Janet from our kennels team

Unfortunately, this is often the case with breeding dogs as they are considered a piece of machinery rather than an animal. At just 7 years old, she was no longer wanted and was left to fend for herself.

Once at The Mayhew we gave her plenty of TLC and kept her company, showing her love and the life a dog should have. We gave her regular medicated baths for her sensitive skin and paws and removed the growth, which thankfully was not cancerous. We put her on a nutritious diet and she was neutered and vaccinated, helping to improve her health.

After a lot of perseverance from our kennel team she soon relaxed and became very attached to her carers, never wanting to leave their side. Gladys loved to patiently sit or walk next to her carer, showing her loyal and truly lovable nature.

Despite the sadness and neglect during the first half of her life, Gladys’ future looked bright. She was very happily rehomed and lived out the rest of her days in West London, contented and getting to do all the things a dog should. Sadly, Gladys passed away due to natural causes at the end of September 2015.

The kennels team say a fond farewell to Gladys before she heads off to her new home

The Mayhew is completely against the indiscriminate trade in puppies and other young animals on the internet and via other media channels, as well as puppy mills and farms of all types. We believe much tighter regulation of breeders and the trade in animals is needed. Such breeders have little or no concern for the welfare of the mother dogs or puppies and no regard for who buys them.

Our Animal Welfare Officers go out into the local community to educate animal owners about the animal trade and overpopulation crisis here in the UK. Slowly but surely we are tackling the problem at the root by urging the public to adopt an animal from a shelter rather than buy from the animal trade, and pet owners to neuter their cats and dogs.

We urgently need your support to continue our work and help animals like Gladys find the loving home they deserve.

£50 could help provide vital surgical supplies for our Vet Clinic
£25 could help us continue offering free and low-cost neutering services
£10 could help provide healthy, nutritious food for a dog for a week
£5 could provide towels and bedding for a new arrival

You can make a donation quickly and easily using the buttons below or by calling us on 020 8206 5870.

[donate text=”Make a one-off donation now to help animals like Gladys”]

[link type=”primary” text=”Or set up a small regular donation” url=”https://www.themayhew.org/donate/recurring-donation” type=”secondary”]

Thank you

Gillian Notton, Head of Animal Welfare