Dog found tied, muzzled and dumped in a shopping bag on railway line near Cape Town finds new home with family after being rescued by kind-hearted passerby
- Lourens van Wyk, 67, initially spotted a plastic bag lying on a railway line
- When he picked up the bag, he discovered a dog tied and bound inside it
- Since named Trax, his hair was falling out and he looked to be slowly dying
- He was rushed to vet, where he was nursed back to health by experts
- Trax now has a family home to go to in the nearby city of Johannesburg
An abandoned dog found trussed up in a shopping bag and dumped on a railway line has a new home to live in after the charity which rescued him was inundated with offers of support.
Trax, a mixed-breed terrier, had his legs and muzzle bound with shoelaces when he was rescued by a local priest after a passerby had raised the alarm.
Lourens van Wyk, 67, said, ‘I saw there was a plastic bag lying on the ground. It looked like it could have been a baby. It was pouring with rain.
Trax, a mixed-breed terrier, is pictured after he was taken to the vet with his legs and mouth muzzled and hair falling out
Here he is pictured left and right on the road to recovery at the Animal Welfare Society, in Helderberg, outside Cape Town
'I tore the packet open and it was a dog, I was shocked. He looked very sick and his hair was falling out. I just grabbed him and raced in my car to the clinic.'
After arriving at the Animal Welfare Society, in Helderberg, outside Cape Town, South Africa, a vet had to un-tie the dog with care.
'On arrival, we struggled to get the knots loose as Trax’s muzzle and legs had swollen from a loss of circulation,' Julia Evans told MailOnline.
'The laces had to be slowly unwound - we didn’t want the blood flowing too quickly into the limbs creating still more pain. It took a few minutes.'
Mr van Wyk, returned to see the dog he’d saved some days later and once Trax’s plight had been posted on the charity’s Facebook page, offers of a new home began to flood in.
'The slow process of healing and learning to trust again has begun,' Mrs Evans added. 'Trax was exhibiting a head 'tic' which at first we thought might be due to the distemper virus, but it is getting better so we assume it was as a result of an injury during his terrible ordeal.'
The new home awaiting Trax is with a family in Johannesburg - a two hour flight away - who emailed pictures of their home and other pets and have phoned regularly to the charity’s clinic for updates.
Mrs Evans added: 'As soon as our vet gives him a clean bill of health, he’ll be on his way to a new life. Unfortunately, Trax’s story is not an unfamiliar one in this country and the cruelty humans impose upon these creatures continues to shock me daily.
'I’ve been in this ‘trade’ for 18 years and I remain appalled at what I see.'
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Trax's rescuer Lourens van Wyk, priest, is pictured with the pup after having saved it from certain death
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