Staffie found abandoned in flat stairwell

A STAFFORDSHIRE bull terrier has been abandoned in a flat stairwell, as new figures reveal that almost half of unwanted or stray dogs in Edinburgh and the Lothians are staffies.

The female pup was found tied to the stair in a block of flats on December 30 by a resident in Leith Walk, who called the Scottish SPCA for help.

She was taken to the charity’s Edinburgh and Lothians Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Balerno, where she has been named Zoe.

The news comes as the animal welfare charity revealed that it cared for 179 dogs at its Balerno centre last year, compared with 148 in 2010.

Typically, Staffordshire bull terriers and staffie crossbreeds make up around 40 per cent of dogs in its care at any one time.

Senior inspector John Toule urged anyone with information about Zoe’s owner to come forward.

He said: “Poor Zoe was left tied up inside the stairwell and it’s likely someone has purposefully abandoned her there.

“We’ve spoken to most of the people living in the block and no-one seems to know who her owner was.

“Although she was left somewhere where she would be found relatively quickly, she didn’t have any food or water.”