A TEIGNMOUTH animal campaigner and her friend have rescued a puppy they found screaming in agony and living in squalor in Albania.

They came across the dog, only a few weeks old, apparently left out to die, while on a fact-finding mission in the former communist state.

He was trapped in barbed wire and wedged between two pieces of splinted wood in a shanty slum.

Jill Proffitt, from the animal rescue centre, and volunteer Jenny Bell, from the Midlands, were so appalled at the suffering they bought the puppy from the owner, and drove him 2,000 back to the UK and the safety of specialist kennels near Newton Abbot.

The suffering of animals in Albania shocked them so much, they are now campaigning to highlight the cruelty and trying to improve animal welfare.

'What we saw there will live us for a very long time. Dogs and cats living on slum sites, scavenging for a morsel of food, and horses tied on short pieces of rope an awful sites. The cruelty to all sorts of animals was just heartbreaking,' said Ms Proffitt.

But what shocked the women the most was finding the puppy, now named Teddy, while walking in the town of Lezhe.

They heard the 'pitiful screams and cries', and kicked up a fuss to persuade local men to pull the dog free.

'Nobody said how long he had been subjected to this nightmare – hours of celebratory fireworks going off all round, the cold, and the pain. He was covered with open sores, had sarcoptic mange, no fur to protect his body, was distressed beyond belief, and absolutely terrified.

'As animal workers we had no other choice but to bring Teddy back; we defy anybody who cares about animals to have left him there to die in agony.

'The ideal situation would have been to have found Teddy a home in Albania, but even the most appealing dogs were running wild or semi-wild.

'The only other choice would have been to have him humanely put down by a vet, but our organisation has a no-destruction policy. We decided Teddy was a fighter to have survived for so long, and deserved a chance of life.'

Ms Proffitt contacted the Foredowne International Quarantine Kennels at Kingskerswell, which agreed to take Teddy, and arranged a licence and all the relevant paperwork with Defra to ease their passage.

The dash home across ten countries in a small van meant travelling night and day.

Ms Proffitt said: 'I have never known a puppy travel so well, despite his condition.

'At the first hotel stop we were able to start immediate treatment for his injuries, and after a few days he started to show signs of becoming a normal puppy, full of mischief.'

The women have written to the Albanian Embassy, the head of state and the Albanian media to relate the horrors they found.

They had no intention of bringing back any animals, and point out that the quarantine costs are high at about £3,000, and they are holding boot sales and other fundraising activities. Any contributions would be welcome.

Ms Proffitt said: 'To date we have found no evidence of any animal welfare, no education or neutering programme, no shelters, or any one person who is prepared to help save these animals.

'Teddy is being well looked after by the staff at Foredowne. Everybody loves him, which is all he ever wanted.'

Ms Proffitt can be contacted at Dingley Dell, eastcliff Walk, Teignmouth.