The dog was rescued on September 12th when she was confiscated by Animal Welfare (AW) from her “abusive owner”.

The poor pup was described as a “tiny skeleton” weighing only 11kgs when she should’ve been around 20kgs.

“And to make it worse, she had growths on her belly that should have been removed months or maybe even years before, but of course, this dog was never taken to a vet.”

The dog – who was later named Abby, because her previous name by her ex-owner was “too stupid” to even mention, according to AAA – was soon taken to the association which was committed to giving her a chance.

“Although she was like a rag, we wanted to give her a chance. This dog had never had a chance in her life. She deserved a chance.”

“We did x-rays for her, and x-rays showed she had no tumors inside. The blood tests were not great but not the worst, and we started the medicine prescribed for her liver and other things.”

“Over the next few weeks, she got so much better, and not only did she start to walk but she gained 5kgs and we were actually thinking we would soon take her again to the vet for the surgery to remove her two bad lumps.”

“But this morning [yesterday], we found her barely moving, covered with her own toilet. During the night, she suffered a stroke, and this morning, we euthanised her. There was nothing left that we could do for her.”

Besides the sheer sadness expressed by the AAA, the association shared deep anger at the system.

“Her ex-owner is known. This dog was confiscated. Why was he not taken to court by animal welfare? Why are abusers free to abuse new dogs in Malta?”

“We are so sad, but we are also angry.”

“Rest well dear Abby, away from the monsters on this Earth. You were failed by the person who should have loved you as a family member and by the system that does not punish abusers. We hope we gave you a good few weeks with us. We have no tears left, we cannot even cry anymore, we are simply too angry at this ongoing abuse.”

Rest in peace, Abby