A SECOND dog was found dead and abandoned in Enfield last night
after seemingly being strangled and tied to a lamppost by a metal
chain.

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier was discovered by a passer-by in
Durants Road, near to the junction with Hertford Road, at around 9pm.

Its head had been trapped between a lamppost and a chain link
fence, and part of the chain had been wrapped around its neck. A
plastic carrier bag had been placed over its head.

The incident occurred just six weeks after a dog was found battered to death two miles away in Winchmore Hill.

The male spaniel crossbreed was discovered on January 17 shortly
after a man was witnessed pulling the dog by its lead down Queen's
Avenue, but nobody has as yet been arrested for the crime.

Dog owner Graham, 46, from Durants Road, discovered the body last
night. He believes the dog was left there between 8.30pm and 9.10pm -
the time it took him to shop in Tesco.

He said: "It was one of the worst things I have ever seen. It was
disgusting. The chain was embedded two to three inches into the dog's
neck.

"It makes you wonder what the area is coming to.

"I have lived here all my life and I've never seen anything like this.

"At first I thought it was just a toy or a teddy bear, but when I saw what it was I was completely shaken up.

"It still haunts me now."

Enfield police are not investigating the case as a veterinary surgery advised officers the death was accidental.

The RSPCA, however, said the same veterinary surgery had never used the term "accidental" when discussing the case with them.

Instead, it said, cause of death could not be established because there were "no obvious signs of trauma".

The RSPCA is due to collect the body from the Hertford Road surgery today, where it was taken by police last night.

Several dog lovers have already criticised both the police and
RSPCA for lack of action concerning the previous death, and many have
since taken matters into their own hands.

A Facebook site set up to try to find the Winchmore Hill killer has
attracted more than 2,000 members, and a reward fund dependent on
public donations currently stands at £400.

Residents have also funded a post-mortem for the first dog, which
they have named Billy, because the RSPCA will only do so after a
suspect has been questioned.

Jo Roberts, 44, from Hertford Road, who owns five dogs, said: "It
is disgraceful how little the authorities do with cases like these.

"This is the second really horrible death of a dog in six weeks and nobody seems to care at all.

"The RSPCA just sit back and wait for information to come to them and the police find excuses not to do anything at all.

"It all comes down to us residents. It's a joke."

RSPCA officers have the same legal powers as the police to investigate animal cruelty cases, but significantly less resources.

Only one investigating officer covers Enfield, Waltham Cross, Cheshunt and part of Broxbourne.

RSPCA spokesman Andy Robbins reacted to criticism that the organisation relied on the police to dispose of the body.

He said: "This is not the direct responsibility of the RSPCA. If the dog is dead, there is nothing we can do to help it.

"Because we work in a rota system, it will come lower in our list of priorities than if it was alive and we could intervene.

"Police have masses of officers for every area, but we have only
one for a huge area, so we have to direct our resources effectively.

"We rely heavily on the public contacting us to give us any leads, which we can then follow up."

the bastards!!