A dog owner is feeling ‘numb’ and like she’s ‘living in a nightmare’ after her two dogs were stolen, put in a builder’s bag, and abandoned to drown in a canal.
Sisters Nala and Nova, both three-year-old mastiff-type dogs, were let out into the garden for a nighttime toilet break on January 12.
Minutes afterwards, owner Sarah Hamblett of Heath Town, Wolverhampton, returned to find the back gate wide open and the dogs missing.
They were found five days later by a passerby, drowned in a builder’s bag which was tied to a boat mooring in a nearby canal.
Ms Hamblett believes the dogs were targeted ‘because of their breed’ and the fact that they ‘look like big XL bullies’.
Ms Hamblett told MailOnline: ‘Nala and Nova were sisters. They took their first breath together and their last breath together.
‘It’s like living a nightmare at the moment. I’m devastated. I’m just numb.’
She had let the dogs outside around 10.30pm, then briefly tended to her grandchildren. When she went back, the dogs were not where they typically waited to come back in.
Sisters Nala and Nova (pictured) were three years old when they were stolen and left to drown
Owner Sarah Hamblett, 49, believes the dogs were targeted because of their resemblance to XL Bullies, which are banned in England and Wales
After reviewing the footage from her doorbell camera but finding no clues, the 49-year-old, who is a mother of six, extended her search to the nearby roads and the local park with the help of a neighbor.
‘I literally left the three children sleeping to see if I could find them.
‘I stayed awake all night then I registered them as stolen. A few days later, I found out that my dogs were thrown into the water in a bag, alive.’
A member of the public saw the bag near Smestow Street on January 13 but did not look inside until four days later, when they discovered the dead dogs, the RSPCA said.
RSPCA inspector Vicki Taylor said: ‘There was no obvious cause of death or injury and they were in good condition. It appears they were drowned.’
Owner Ms Hamblett told of how she ‘broke down’ when informed by RSPCA on January 20 that the dogs were found dead.
‘I slept 12 hours in total the week they went missing. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I was going over everything in my mind.
‘When I found out how they died I was shocked. I couldn’t speak to anyone for two days.
The dogs were let out into the back garden for a toilet break and were missing when Ms Hamblett returned a few minutes later
The dogs were discovered by a passerby in a canal near Smestow Street, Heath Town, Wolverhampton
Nala and Nova were found tied in a builder’s bag (like the one above) which was attached to a boat mooring in a nearby canal
‘When I see a picture of them it breaks me down. Right now, I just want to fight for justice for them. Whoever did this needs to be held accountable.’
According to Ms Hamblett, the garden was secured by a 6ft tall fence, which the dogs ‘never once’ tried to scale.
‘It’s really not right, it’s just unacceptable. It’s not just because they’re my dogs – it could have been anyone’s.
‘I feel that whoever is responsible should be put in prison and have a long sentence just to show others they can’t get away with it.’
Ms Hamblett believes Nala and Nova were disliked because of their resemblance to XL Bully dogs, which are banned in England and Wales.
However, she says she has a certificate of exemption for the sisters, who she called ‘big softies’.
‘They wouldn’t harm a fly. With big breeds, you want people to be able to come into the house – they were well trained, they were soft with everyone, they loved everybody.
‘They were brilliant with our cats, one of them used to climb in their bed, he’s wondering where they’ve gone and he keeps crying.’
Clare Vowels of Wings and Paws Rescue has started a fundraiser on crowdfunding platform GoFundMe on behalf of Ms Hamblett.
Ms Vowels aims to raise enough money to provide a financial incentive for people to come forward with information which could lead to ‘the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible.’
The fundraiser, titled Justice For Nala And Nova, reads: ‘Who did this? Who stole these innocent dogs from their home and took their lives?
‘They should have been safe in their own garden. Instead, they were stolen and brutally murdered.’
In the case that no one is charged with having stolen and killed the dogs, the funds will be used to support local families searching for lost or stolen dogs, the page says.
Ms Hamblett said: ‘I have to thank Clare and Gemma at Wings and Paws – I owe them the world.
‘All I can do is try and find who’s responsible because nothing is going to bring them back now.
‘I’m not going to be at peace ever. I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone, not even my worst enemies – although I don’t have any.’
The grandmother of ten said she has kept the gruesome details of the dogs’ death ‘away from the youngsters’ and her youngest son, aged 13, has taken time off school because he is ‘mentally exhausted’.
West Midlands Police have been contacted for comment.
