Wolfdogs found in filthy home wearing shock collars now 'thriving'

Six neglected wolfdogs rescued from a "filthy and uninhabitable" house in Grangemouth are now thriving in their new homes, the Scottish SPCA has said.

The wolfdogs' former owner Graham McQuet was fined £2,000 and banned from keeping animals for five years in March.

A court was told that McQuet left the wolfdogs "effectively abandoned", with one developing a friction sore from an electric shock collar.

Five of the animals now live at Wiltshire charity The Little Zoo - the other wolfdog has been domesticated and rehomed.

The animals were rehomed in 2022 and the Scottish SPCA provided an update on them to mark this year's International Wolf Day.

When a Scottish SCPA inspector attended the property, each wolfdog was wearing a shock collar and they appeared to be "controlled rather than trained".

The property was also found to be in extremely poor condition, with the wolfdogs housed in inappropriately sized kennels.

The charity said that before a police warrant could be executed for a full search of the property, McQuet had voluntarily given up the animals to The Little Zoo.

The Little Zoo said it took "months and months of patience" to slowly introduce the wolfdogs to a safe and predictable routine.

The wolfdogs' conditions in Grangemouth came to light after one of the animals chewed its way through the roof of a kennel and escaped.

Concerned neighbours, who had already reported the wolves fighting and howling when McQuet was not there, called the Scottish SPCA.

The Little Zoo, which cares for exotic animals, said the wolfdogs arrived "severely underweight, unsocialised and terrified".

It said they are now receiving the "patience, care and understanding that they need to thrive".

The animals are housed at Wolves of Wiltshire, which is also based at the charity's sanctuary.

A Little Zoo spokesperson said: "They had to learn that food no longer needed to be fought over - that it would arrive every day and that even those who had previously missed out would always have enough to eat."

The charity said it learned the wolfdogs' individual personalities to gradually build up trust.

It said the wolfdogs are still completely wild, and live as wolves rather than domestic dogs.

The spokesperson added: "Almost four years on, we are incredibly proud of how far they have come and of the relationships they - and we - have formed here. Their terrible start in life is now behind them, and their future is a positive one."

The charity said the sixth wolfdog, who was domesticated enough to be rehomed, is "thriving with his forever family".

The spokesperson said: "His owner recently told the team at the zoo that 'he goes everywhere with us, is treated so well, sleeps in our bed, and we love him to bits'."

Falkirk Sheriff Court was told in March that SSPCA investigators had found there was little clean water for the animals and they had resorted to drinking from a leaky tap in McQuet's garden.

One animal died of blood loss after trapping and severing its leg in a cage.

McQuet put the body in a freezer and the leg in a wheelie bin. It was later found with chew marks, suggesting it had been gnawed by another animal after death.

McQuet repeatedly denied Scottish SPCA officers entry to his house to assess the full state of the premises.

The charity said it was calling for a national animal offenders register to be built into existing intelligence systems to support monitoring of individuals convicted of animal cruelty.