Loyal dog is found laying by the side of her owner, 76, who had been dead for more than a week

A faithful miniature poodle was found lovingly next to the body of her elderly owner, who had been dead for more than a week in Wales.

Poppy and her owner were found by a neighbor who went to check on the 76-year-old at her home in West Cross, near Swansea, after not seeing her on her regular walks for several days.

Christie Powell, 37, peered through the letterbox and saw Yolande fall to the floor as her adorable dog was cuddled up to ‘skin and bones’.

The neighbor later learned that Yolande had been dead for at least a week – during which time her faithful eight-year-old pet had not left her side.

Poppy was found ‘severely malnourished and dehydrated’ and unable to walk, but has now been resettled by Christie’s sister following the tragedy.

Christie said: ‘It was a week before we noticed we hadn’t seen her through the window, and one of the other neighbors also commented, so we went around, and unfortunately it was too late.

‘I’m a dog groomer, so I groom Poppy. She always barks constantly and you hear her when you knock on the door, but when I walked past I didn’t hear her barking and I thought, “Oh no, something isn’t right here.”

‘I knocked on the door, knocked on the door, but there was no answer, so I decided to shout through the letterbox.

‘When I opened the letterbox I saw letters there, which was not a good sign, and when I peered through the letterbox I saw Yolande on the floor and Poppy on top of her.

‘She was one of the loyalist dogs – when I looked after her she had the worst separation anxiety, she would cry and scream all the time because she hated being away from her.

‘My sister called 999 and I went next door and grabbed a load of ham and dog biscuits and threw them through the letterbox, and she just sat at the door eating, eating, eating and scratching.

“The emergency services came and were banging on the door, and our thought was to get to the dog, and she was clinging to my sister like you wouldn’t believe, you couldn’t get her out of her arms.

‘Poppy was petrified. We took her in and injected her with some liquid, as much as we could, and a little bit of food, being careful not to overfeed her as she was skin and bones.

‘Her eyes, it was so bad. They were completely glued together. I cut her coat, I had to cut her eyes to get all the gunk out, and I put her in the bath. She drank the bathwater – she was so dehydrated. I cuddled (cuddled) her in a blanket and managed to get some food through her.”

Christie said Yolande was “quite an elderly and vulnerable lady”, adding: “She moved from London five or six years ago and has no soul in the world, she has no one.

‘We’ve tried to intervene a few times to help her as we were a bit concerned about her health, but it’s been difficult lately as I’ve just had twins and we haven’t been able to keep an eye on her to hold. as much as we would have liked.’

Christie’s sister Kate Di Francesco had previously vowed never to get a dog again, but due to Poppy’s tragic circumstances she decided to adopt her.

She said: ‘She fell in love with Poppy and said, ‘I’m taking her home. She doesn’t have anyone else and she doesn’t go to a kennel.’

“We went to Pets at Home, got her a bunch of stuff, everything she needed, and she came home with my sister that night.

‘She seemed a little brighter after she had food and water but later she got a little groggy and wasn’t right so Kate rushed her to the vet and that’s when we were told she wouldn’t have another night survived. if we hadn’t found her, and it was doubtful she would survive that night.

‘She is severely malnourished and dehydrated, and literally skin and bones. I can put my fingers around her waist, she was that thin. My sister manages a house and Poppy always has someone nearby.

‘My sister will take her to work, she’ll be surrounded by older people and always have a lap to crawl on, and she’ll be absolutely spoiled.

‘Yolande, the only thing she would ever worry about was Poppy, it’s one of the few things she had in the world. It feels like we are doing Yolande a good thing by taking care of her.’

A South Wales Police spokesperson said: ‘Officers were called to a report of a sudden death at a property on Kenilworth Place, West Cross, Swansea at around 12pm on Sunday, March 24. A 76-year-old woman was found deceased. The circumstances are not considered suspicious.”

Christie has one Just give page to help pay Poppy’s vet bills – including paying for the dog to have her right eye removed.

The fundraiser reached its £3,000 target in just three days.

How does your dog express his loyalty? Email matthew.cox@mailonline.co.uk