THE DSPCA HAS described the death of a young dog who was “eaten alive” by maggots in west Dublin as one of the worst cases of coat matting and cruelty it has seen in years.

The charity responded to a call relating to a collapsed dog in the Lisdisfarne area of Clondalkin last Thursday, when the small female Shih Tzu was found in a severely matted state.

An inspector found that the dog could hardly move due to severe matting on its fur and when she was examined closer, the dog was found infested with fly maggots and with open wounds that had formed from urine and faces embedded into her fur over years.

Some wounds were fresh and others were so bad that the flesh had died and turned black.

The charity’s veterinary team spent more than four hours removing the matting and maggots, but despite cleaning the dog and giving her medication, she died on Sunday.

DSPCA Chief Inspector Liam Kinsella described the condition of the dog as “utterly horrific”, adding that it had been subjected to “complete neglect”.

“A Shih Tzu is a family pet and should be treated as one but instead this little dog was subjected to filth and dirt with probably no washing or brushing of her coat since she was a pup,” he said.

“The owner must have known the skin was infected as it was raw and bleeding, plus the presence of flies around the dog would have been evident.”

He added that the dog suffered “immense pain” and was “eaten alive by fly maggots”.

The charity called on anyone with information about who the owner of the dog is to contact its inspectors’ line on 01 4994727 or to email cruelty@dspca.ie.