A loyal miniature poodle was found lovingly curled up next to the body of her elderly owner, who had been dead for more than a week in Wales.
Poppy and her owner were found by a neighbor who went to see the 76-year-old at her home in West Cross, near Swansea, after not seeing her on her usual walks for several days.
Christie Powell, 37, looked through the mailbox and saw Yolande slumped on the floor with her adorable dog reduced to “skin and bones” curled up.
The neighbor later learned that Yolande had been dead for at least a week, during which time her loyal eight-year-old pet had not left her side.
Poppy was found “severely malnourished and dehydrated” and unable to walk, but has now been rehomed by Christie’s sister following the tragedy.
Poppy, a miniature poodle, had been reduced to ‘skin and bones’ after not being separated from her 76-year-old owner Yolande.
Christie Powell, 37, saved the eight-year-old dog by throwing food into the letterbox while she waited for emergency services to arrive.
Christie said: “It was a week until we realized we hadn’t seen her in the window, and one of the other neighbors commented too, so we went and unfortunately it was too late.”
‘I’m a dog groomer, so I groom Poppy. She always barks constantly and you can hear her if you knock on the door, but when I turned around I didn’t hear her bark, and I thought, “Oh no, something’s not right here.”
‘I knocked on the door, I knocked on the door, but there was no answer, so I decided to shout through the letterbox.
‘When I opened the letterbox I could see letters there, which wasn’t a great sign, and when I looked through the letterbox I could see Yolande on the ground and Poppy lying on top of her.
“He was one of the loyal dogs; when I used to look after her he had the worst separation anxiety, he cried and screamed all the time because he hated being away from her.
“My sister called 999 and I went next door and grabbed a load of ham and dog biscuits and threw them in the letterbox, and she was eating, eating, eating and scratching at the door.
“The emergency services came and banged on the door, and our thought was to get to the dog, and she clung to my sister like you wouldn’t believe, you couldn’t get her out of her arms.”
‘Poppy was petrified. We took her to her house and injected her with a large amount of fluid, as much as we could, and some food, being careful not to overfeed her, because she was just skin and bones.
‘His eyes, it was so bad. They were completely glued together. I cut off her coat, had to cut out her eyes to get all the crap out of her, and put her in the bathtub. She was drinking the bath water; That’s how dehydrated she was. I cuddled (snuggled) her in a blanket and managed to give her some food.’
Christie said Yolande was “quite an old and frail lady”, adding: “She moved from London five or six years ago and she has no soul in the world, she has no one.”
“We’ve tried to intervene a couple of times to help her because we were a little worried about her health, but lately it’s been difficult because I just had twins and we haven’t been able to keep an eye on her as well.” as much as we would have liked.”
Christie’s sister, Kate Di Francesco, had vowed never to have another dog but, due to Poppy’s tragic circumstances, decided to adopt her.
She said: “He fell in love with Poppy and said, ‘I’ll take her home.’ “He doesn’t have anyone else and he’s not going to a pound.
‘We went to Pets at Home, got him a bunch of stuff, everything he needed, and he went home to my sister that night.
“She seemed a little brighter after she had food and fluids, but later she became a little limp and wasn’t doing well, so Kate rushed her to the emergency vets and that’s when we were told she wouldn’t have survived another night. “. if we hadn’t found her, and it was uncertain if she would survive that night.
‘She is severely malnourished and dehydrated, and is literally skin and bones. I can put my fingers around her waist, that’s how thin she was. My sister is a residential home manager and Poppy will always have someone around.
“My sister will take her to work with her, she will be surrounded by older people and she will always have a lap to hold on to, and she will be absolutely pampered.”
‘Yolande, the only thing he would worry about was Poppy, it’s one of the only things he has in the world. It seems like we’re doing the right thing for Yolande by taking care of her.’
Christine’s sister Kate Di Francesco adopted the puppy, whose veterinary bills would run into the thousands.
A South Wales Police spokesperson said: “Officers were called to reports of a sudden death at a property in Kenilworth Place, West Cross, Swansea at around 12pm on Sunday, March 24. A 76-year-old woman years old was found dead. The circumstances are not considered suspicious.
Christie has launched a just giving page to help pay Poppy’s vet bills, including paying for the dog’s right eye to be removed.
The fundraiser reached its target of £3,000 in just three days.
How does your dog express his loyalty? Email matthew.cox@mailonline.co.uk