Acts of animal cruelty are sadly quite common in Sri Lanka and in November 2009, we were alerted to some pups that had been thrown into a well. Sadly one pup had already drowned but five other pups were successfully rescued. All were taken to the safety of our sanctuary.

The pups were named after famous footballers and their partners-Beckham, Rooney, Cole, Cheryl and Coleen.

Cole was the weakest of the litter and had obviously suffered from his terrible ordeal and was very frail. Sadly, despite all our attempts to save him, this little pup passed away on Russell's lap a few days later.

Fortunately, his four stronger siblings continue to thrive and remain in the safety of our sanctuary.

Incidents like this prove that we have a mammoth task ahead of us to change some prevailing attitudes towards animals in Sri Lanka.