While millions of pets enjoy living the high life with their doting owners there are some who are less fortunate.

From kittens being dumped at the side of the road or flung from moving cars to cats being shot in the head – cases of animal cruelty have been hitting the headlines in Dorset this year.

Just yesterday we reported about an elderly cat which was found distressed but alive after being dumped in a recycling bin in Capstone Road, Charminster. Veterinary nurse Sue Morris made the discovery after she heard a rattling noise coming from the bin.

And we also featured the story of a rabbit which had been thrown over a five-foot-high wall into the back garden of a house in Wimborne Road in Poole.

Other recent cases have included:

• A Jack Russell was thrown from a moving car in Liederbach Drive in Verwood last month;

• On May 3 nine-month-old tabby car Rosebud lost her right eye after being shot with an airgun in Ringwood;

• The same month one-year-old cat Laurel died after being attacked with ‘acid’. Owners Ian and Trish Huxstep from West Howe, Bournemouth, said a sticky fluid had burned the fur on his head and shoulders and burnt his oesophagus after he tried to lick himself clean;

• Black cat Ozzy, from Rossmore, was discovered cowering underneath a van, covered in blood, after losing an eye to a ball bearing; and

• Kitten Jasper, from Colehill, lost an eye after being shot with two split shot fishing weights.

RSPCA Inspector Graham Hammond said it is a guessing game as to why people are dumping their animals but said it could be due to the current economic condition.

“I don’t think people appreciate how much it costs to care for a pet.”

He said there was no excuse for people to dump their pets. “There is a lot of subsidised care, particularly in the Bournemouth and Poole areas with the PDSA centre on Castle Lane and the RSPCA clinic in Richmond Park Road.

He said a rise in unplanned pregnancies in pets is due to a lack of neutering.

“We are campaigning to remind people to get their animals neutered. Our animal homes are full.”

Insp Hammond said he has noticed a definite increase in cases of animal cruelty.

“It has featured in the Echo every week for four weeks now - normally I get one a month or one every other month,” he said.

“And this isn’t just me, there are other inspectors working in the area too.”

Shelagh Merdeith, from Dorset-based Waggy Tails, said: “I get very angry. These people are moronic.

“People who abuse animals are very often people that abuse other people and hit kids.

“For every horrible case we hear about there are lots more people who love their animals very much.”

She added that their rescue home is full of dogs and some cats and kittens and all are desperately looking for a loving new home.

CONTACTS: RSPCA Richmond Park Road clinic – 01202 526520; RSCPA Rescue Centre, Ashley Heath – 0300 1230749; Waggy Tails – 01202 875000.