Death sentence for hundreds of abandoned pets

He waits patiently at kennels in Ossett, and sticks his nose out to greet anyone who walks past his pen, in the hope that they will give him the attention and love he craves.

But this dog, along with dozens of others housed at the kennels, is in danger of losing not only his chance of a home, but his life.

Figures revealed today show that Leeds City Council has been forced to put down over four hundred abandoned and stray dogs in the past two years.

Its dog warden service picks up to nine dogs a day from the city’s streets.

And owners have just seven days to reclaim their dog from the kennels before it becomes at risk of being euthanised.

275 dogs were put down between November 2013 and November 2014. And 136 were put down from November 2014 to November 2015.

Council officials have blamed owners who neglect their dogs, refuse to neuter them and don’t microchip them - making it almost impossible to trace them when their dog has been lost.