An animal rescue charity has highlighted the horrifying state of some of the 45 dogs rescued from a dog breeder in Birżebbuġa last week.
The Association for Abandoned Animals is taking care of the dogs after they were seized from the home of Antonio Vella.
He has been found guilty of neglect.
Some of the dogs, which were largely of the Cavalier King Charles spaniel breed, have burst eyeballs, broken jawbones, and are suffering from the effects of overbreeding.
The AAA is caring for the confiscated dogs left in the worst conditions and so they are not being placed for adoption.
In the last week, the charity has begun to share pictures of the individual dogs they are looking after, and admitted the work has "been overwhelming".
Upon seeing one dog with a broken jaw, the charity said their hearts “skipped a few beats”.
“She has a jaw that was broken quite some while ago, rotten teeth, one punctured eye and the other eye reduced, and infection in both. She can eat however she gags after eating sometimes,” they said, of her condition.
Another dog was brought in pregnant and suffering from two burst eyeballs, meaning that no medical intervention can be made until she gives birth.
“Living in total darkness and a belly full of puppies... what a heartbreak,” the NGO said.
“This beauty will be fostered by one of our volunteers, we cannot perform any surgeries to clean and close her burst eyes while she is about to give birth, so sorry darling. What an unlucky girl you are, to end up in the hands of an abuser.”
Another dog from the Birzebbuga lot, whom rescuers have named Agnes, underwent surgery to remove a burst eyeball and is receiving treatment for her second infected eye.
Kathleen, another dog currently in the care of the AAA, is suffering from infected breasts, as she continues to produce milk despite not having any puppies to nurse.
Condemning the conditions in which animal were removed from Vella, the AAA also found dogs that had been overbred to the point that they were nothing but skin and bone under their fur.
A little pekinese, whom rescuers names Patricia, is a much older dog that was living in the house in squalid conditions.
“A lower jaw that our vet confirmed has an old fracture, two eyes so dry and so infected that they turned like one black thing, ear infection and a body that gave birth so many times. Under all that fur she is so skinny and is on medical care,” the NGO said of her condition.
Because of the hardships they’ve suffered, these dogs are not currently up for adoption as they need time to heal and recover before their future can be determined. Nevertheless the sanctuary is optimistic that better things are in store for the dogs in their care.
“The first two dogs that we posted about are being fostered, the girl with the broken jaw and the girl who is blind and pregnant. We cannot do much for them right now. One needs to get stronger before we even think about any surgery and the other needs to give birth,” they said.
“But here they are, cared and loved for the first time ever. Heal well little ones, your future is going to be better.”