A SELFLESS Wroughton woman has opened her door to a six-month-old puppy who had been seriously abused.

Yvonne Cranny-Waite took pity on the emaciated little pup after seeing an appeal on a charity’s website and immediately decided she had to do something.

The dog is originally from Spain and has only been in the UK since the weekend.

Yvonne, 52, who lives in Wroughton with husband Ryan, said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw what had happened to him.”

The dog, a Podenco that Yvonne and Ryan named Nulli Secundus – which is a Latin phrase for ‘second to none’ – had been found before Christmas by a woman named Maria Torres in Villa del Rio, near Cordoba in southern Spain.

Maria rescues abandoned dogs and then appeals to people from all over the world to house them.

Yvonne said: “Someone had seen him thrown over a fence on to some common ground and just left there. Someone has butchered his ears and cut half his tail off – he’s only a puppy.

“The dogs are treated quite badly because they don’t seem to have the same standards as we do, though dogs can be treated badly anywhere.

“I love Spain and love travelling there. But I was never aware of the extent of the problem.”

The couple already have a dog – a 20 month old Westie named Mukkypup – and Yvonne heard about Nulli through the charity Westies Rescued UK.

Nulli was flown from Spain to the UK last week and was delivered to his new Wroughton home on Sunday.

“It took him a while to gain his confidence and he didn’t seem to like being touched,” said Yvonne.

“He had pneumonia and needed an awful lot of veterinary help. He arrived here and must have thought it was very cold because he wanted to get straight back into the van. He was just sitting with his tail between his legs and didn’t really want to move.

“He obviously had never lived indoors before because he was frightened to cross the threshold. I had to pick him up and carry him in a few times. Then, once he was comfortable, it turned into a nutty playtime.”

Yvonne also wanted to warn locals about the latest addition to their family.

She said: “If I take him out walking I will have to put a coat on him or people will think we have done this to him.

“He is still extremely thin. It’s clear he had been living rough for a long time.”

Nulli has been registered at Drove Vets and is due for a full MoT later this week.

Yvonne said: “He has settled in very well and has taken over control of the TV. I hope he gets better as soon as possible.”