Two arrested after dog tied to rock rescued from river

A man and a woman have been arrested after a dog was found drowning in a river tied to a large rock.

A 31-year-old woman and 32-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty offences after the dog was spotted struggling in the River Trent.

The Belgian Shepherd, registered as Bella according to her microchip, was pulled to safety by a woman at around 8.45am on Monday in the Farndon area of Nottinghamshire.

The dog had a carrier bag containing a large rock attached to her lead and is now recovering in the care of vets.

Pc Adam Pace, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We are still appealing for information about the circumstances of the incident, including how many people were involved.

“We are lucky that the kind member of the public found and rescued her. Whilst the dog is still quite poorly she has been showing some encouraging signs by eating so hopefully she will be on the mend.

“If you saw anything, or have CCTV or dash-cam footage in the area, please get in touch on 101, quoting incident number 103 of January 6 2020.”

Pc Pace previously said that while the dog was recorded as Bella on her microchip in 2010, her name may have been changed since then.