THE tale of a dog abandoned and tied to a fence outside Warrington’s RSPCA at Christmas was used to illustrate the effects of the credit crunch on animals.

The RSPCA saw a huge rise in the number of dumped and abandoned animals during the credit crunch, with 3,372 dumped in the north in 2008, compared with 2,009 in 2007.

At Christmas the Warrington Guardian featured the story of Elfie, a female German shepherd-cross who was found tied to the fence with two bowls, a bag of food, an extra lead and a muzzle.

She was rehomed a few weeks later.

The number of calls from people wanting to give up an animal rose by 52 per cent in 2008.