A DOG left to die by the side of the road was found starved, maggot-ridden and with a two-kilo growth on its side.

The German shepherd had been so badly mistreated Swindon Council’s animal welfare officers had no choice but to end its life.

Now information is being sought on the owners who allowed the dog to fall into the shocking condition.

“Anyone who can treat a dog like this should not be allowed to keep an animal ever again,” said Alison Waine, an environmental protection officer for animals at Swindon Council.

Alison said she was shocked and disgusted at the state the animal had been left in.

“As soon as I walked into the vets I could smell him,” she said. “There was really nothing we could do for him. We didn’t even have time to give him a name — the main thing was to stop his suffering as soon as possible. I would have loved to have made him better but he was just too far gone. At least he had a kind word and people that cared with him at the end.”

The dog was found on Tuesday afternoon by the side of the road in Castle Eaton. It was rushed to Drove Veterinary Hospital in Croft Road, where the dog’s condition was assessed.

Alison described the appalling scenes that greeted her. “He was very emaciated,” she said. “There was not an ounce of fat or muscle on him. The width across his thigh was an inch and a half. My terrier, who is half his size, is five inches in the same place.

“He had a large mass on his side the size of a football. It weighed between one and two kilos.”

The dog also had cataracts in his eyes and an infection in his ear. His mouth was ulcered and his teeth broken off.

Alison said: “He had clearly been left on his own for some time. It seems like he had been lying in his own urine and faeces for so long that the skin was blistered and burnt.

“The flies had then laid their eggs in the sores so there were maggots all over his anus.”

Alison said she believed the dog had finally been abandoned because the lump on his side was growing rapidly. She said: “If they had brought the dog to the vet when it first appeared it could have been treated and the dog could have been saved.

“The message we want to get across is that there is no reason to let an animal get into this state. You can contact the RSPCA or the council. You should also have insurance.”

Now Alison is hoping neighbours of the owners may recognise the dog and come forward.

She said: “Owners who seriously neglect their animals can be eligible for a fine or even imprisonment and can be banned from owning animals.”

Anyone who recognises the dog and may have information on the owners is asked to call Swindon Council’s animal welfare team on 01793 466080 or the Adver newsdesk on 01793 501802.