Give the pup with no nose a home

By Michael MacLeod

A PUPPY with no nose is struggling to sniff out a home.

Just 13 weeks old, cute little Clay was born with tiny nostrils and a deformed ear.

And despite her playful nature and huge puppy-dog eyes, she’s been ignored her whole life because of her birth defects.

Half a dozen families have refused to give her a home, turning their own noses up at the noseless pooch.

Worried staff at the West Calder Dogs Trust are anxious to find a home for the tiny brindle and white collie-English bull terrier cross.

They say families wrongly assume Clay will need costly veterinary treatment for her unusual nose.

But staff at the rehoming centre insist the excitable wee pup could not be more perfect.

Claire Cairney, assistant manager at the centre, said: “Clay is a lovely puppy.

“She is missing part of the front of her nose and her nostril passages are very narrow.

“Part of her left ear has not formed properly either.

“We’re worried her nose deformity might be putting people off rehoming her – six families all took a look at her but they all decided against rehoming her.

“Puppies are usually rehomed really quickly, within a few days, but we have had Clay for three weeks so it’s quite unusual.”

Part of an unexpected litter of five, staff at the kennel named them after rocks because “they looked sturdy.”

Clay still has her brother Slate and sister Quartz for company at the centre.

Dog experts at the West Lothian kennels say they don’t envisage Clay having any medical problems in the future.

And even if she does, they’re so in love with Clay that they’ve vowed to help the new owners to pay for any medical bills.

Miss Cairney added: “It’s an obvious deformity that people can see as soon as they look at her.

“People might be worrying that there could be problems in years to come but as far as we can tell there is nothing wrong with her health wise.

“Hopefully her nose deformity won’t cause her any problems in the future, but if it did, we would offer financial support.

“It’s a shame that she’s been here for three weeks now when she should really be in a loving home. She’s a perfect little puppy.”

36 Year-Old Horse Pulled To Safety

By Alexander Lawrie

EIGHT burly firemen put their pulling power to the test to heave an elderly horse to safety.

A fire crew from Edinburgh was called out yesterday (Tue) to help free the 36-year-old gelding which had become trapped in its own stable, near Roslin, Midlothian.

Elderly Tally has been a regular at the stables for the past 20 years and is prone to falling over while asleep.

Kirkettle Farm Stables owner Alan Fairlie was alerted to the equine drama around 4am by his dogs barking.

Rushing to see what the commotion was Alan was stunned to see Tally lying on his side still inside his box.

He first tried to move the distressed animal by using his forklift, but after several unsuccessful attempts he called in the professionals.

He said: “Poor Tally is getting on in years and I was so shocked to see him on his side.

“He sleeps standing up, but sometimes when he gets woken with a start he falls over.

“I knew I had to act quickly because of his age and because horses in general get fluid on their lungs if they are on their side for too long.

“I tried to move him with the forklift but there just wasn’t the room. His breathing was getting heavy so I decided to call the fire brigade.

“They arrived really quickly and we had him up within no time. And apart from a few bruises and scratches he’s fine.”

The eight firemen pulled Tally from her horsebox using their hose reels, and managed to get the animal upright with a little help from the forklift.

A spokesperson for Lothian Fire said: “A crew was called out on Tuesday morning to stables in Midlothian to affect the rescue of an elderly horse.

“The crew used hose reels and a tractor to pull the horse back on its feet.

“A veterinary surgeon attended the scene, but the horse was uninjured by the incident.”