The weekend turned out to be slightly more adventurous than we had expected. To Swansea on Saturday, to see our favourite great aunt. We went out for lunch, to the West Cross Inn which has a dining room with a wonderful view over the bay and the Mumbles. Enjoyed catching up with all the news, then back to drop her off before returning home to take care of the woofs.

Leaving Swansea, we drove out on Fabian Way, a busy duel carriageway that leads to the M4. Just after passing St. Thomas, we saw a loose, collarless dog on the other side of the carriageway, wandering, looking confused and lost. We turned round as quickly as we could, and by then the dog had actually wandered into the carriageway. Miraculously, nobody hit it, so we were able to pull into Bevans Row, and then attempted to catch it. Andrew was able to and then carried it back to the car where it would at least be safe. Fortunately, we always carry a water bowl and water for our two, so we gave it a drink. It was painfully thin, in fact emaciated, with sore paws, muddy, and with a strange lurching gait, suggesting problems with hips/back legs.

At this stage, a man approached us, who said that he thought he recognised the dog as belonging to his neighbour in Danygraig Road, Port Tennant - so we agreed to at least try to return him. Oddly,when we got there, nobody knew anything at all about the dog, even after talking to neighbours on both sides. By this stage, we decided to return to Cardiff, to at least help our two, so our new friend travelled peacefully in the boot.

Cardiff Dogs home refused to take him in when I phoned them, and we were prepared to have him for the weekend if we weren't able to find emergency accommodation. Gently placed him in our dining room, with bed, water and very small quantity of food, then looked up Swansea arrangements. Fortunately Swansea Council were far more helpful, and have an emergency dog reception point at Pipehouse Wharf depot, where I used to work over 20 years ago. Andrew, bless him, then drove our visitor back to Swansea, while I stayed with our two, who were confused and intrigued by new canine smells from dining room. I then did a thorough room clean and washed all the blankets and towels he'd been using. The woof has now been taken to the Council's contract boarding kennels and when I phoned today to check on his progress, he was at the vet being assessed.

I cannot even begin to describe the rage I feel when thinking about abandoning a dog in such miserable circumstances. As a charity, GRW often helps responsible owners who for all sorts of genuine reasons (some absolutely heartbreaking) are no longer able to care for their dogs. There are a wide range of other charities and welfare organisations who can help too. The dog clearly was quite old, poorly and starving, and literally inches away from being roadkill. Over the years, having been involved in a variety of animal welfare issues, I still can't help being surprised by the casual cruelty that is so common, and I really do struggle at times to remember that human beings are not all unmitigated bastards, who leave a trail of suffering and trash in their wake wherever they go. Although we've been given a pretty amazing planet, there seems to be no bit of it we can't decorate with a decaying pile of fly-tipping, McDonalds wrappers and graffiti tags. As I age, I am more and more convinced of the Catholic approach that man is definately fallen, and needs all the help he/we can get.

Photos attached show much loved great aunty and a couple of pictures of our unexpected guest.