A 58-year old man from Vittoriosa is expected to be charged today with causing the death of his pet dog, a female boxer dog found suffocating in a plastic bag that had been dumped in a skip in Kalkara.

The four-year old dog, later named Gaia, was found alive on Friday morning by a jogger who heard noises coming from the skip. Despite efforts by the staff at San Franġisk Animal Hospital, at Ta’ Qali, to revive her, she died the same evening.

Police sources said officers from the Żabbar police station received a tip-off and investigated the case together with the Cospicua district police. When Dione Galea unearthed Gaia from under other garbage bags, the boxer was gasping for air and foaming at the mouth.

Janice Chetcuti from the Animal Welfare Directorate said the dog was extremely dehydrated and had a fever.

A wave of animal cruelty cases swept the island this summer.

Among them, the mixed-breed dog Star succumbed to injuries after being shot in the head and buried alive in a field in Birżebbuġa and three dead female Pharaoh hounds were found ­floating off Marsalforn tied together.

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