Animal lovers rallied to rescue Bobi from the gutters of Bulgaria... now the RSPCA wants him put down Bobi was rescued from starvation in the gutters of Bulgaria by pet lovers He arrived in Britain on December 21 and was rehomed in Newport, Wales But RSPCA has taken three-year-old terrier away and wants him put down Now, 5,000 people have signed petition demanding that Bobi be spared He was rescued from starvation in the gutters when his plight touched the hearts of pet lovers. But after being brought to Britain from Bulgaria, former street dog Bobi now faces another battle for survival. For while one charity raised hundreds of pounds to rescue him and fund medical treatment, another â€" the RSPCA â€" has taken the three-year-old terrier away, saying he should be put down because he is too disabled. Born survivor: Three-year-old Bobi has the support of an internet petition signed by a staggering 5,000 people Saved: The terrier was rescued from starvation in Bulgaria when his plight touched the hearts of pet lovers Supporters of Action Aid for Animals, which has been trying to rehome Bobi in the UK, have accused the RSPCA of a â€˜barbaricâ€™ attitude. They claim an officer forcibly removed the dog from his new family and 5,000 pet lovers have signed a petition demanding that Bobi be spared. Bobi, whose back legs are paralysed, arrived in Britain on December 21 with the permission of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. After specialist medical treatment at Action Aidâ€™s clinic in Gloucestershire, vets deemed he was healthy enough to be rehomed. Donations: He arrived in the UK on December 21 after supporters raised hundreds of pounds to rescue him Battle: Bobi, who has paralysed legs and has to wear nappies, was deemed healthy enough to be rehomed by vets. But he now faces another battle for survival as the RSPCA has taken him away and wants him put down Bobi spent Christmas with a foster family in the West Midlands but they struggled to cope with the demands of a disabled dog who has to wear nappies. He was then rehoused with Jayne Jones, an Action Aid manager with years of experience caring for sick dogs, in Newport, South Wales. The RSPCA has been on the receiving end of repeated criticism in recent years over its â€˜politically motivatedâ€™ actions. The charity has pursued a number of expensive legal cases in its battle against activities such as foxhunting, leading some to suggest it has prioritised animal rights over animal welfare. It was heavily criticised last year after it was revealed to have spent Â£326,000 on legal action against David Cameronâ€™s hunt in Oxfordshire. And despite the RSPCA relying solely on donations from the public, its boss Gavin Grant earns up to Â£160,000 a year. There have been calls to strip the charity â€" set up in 1824 â€" of its ability to bring prosecutions. Yesterday the head of the Countryside Alliance warned that the RSPCA has turned into a â€˜sinister and nastyâ€™ organisation. General Sir Barney White-Spunner urged his members to stop donating to it. He told the Daily Telegraph its inspectors had been given intrusive powers with no proper basis in law. He said: â€˜When their inspectors turn up in uniform itâ€™s as a private organisation. â€˜Itâ€™s a sad story. Itâ€™s got plenty of money but its membership has plummeted. â€™ However, on Friday after just two hours at his new home, he was taken away by an officer from the RSPCA. The officer said she would return Bobi after some routine tests but Mrs Jones says she received a phone call to say the dog would be put down the following day. The RSPCA told her a vet had decided that Bobi was not fit enough to lead a happy life â€" a claim his new owner and Action Aid say is untrue. Last night, as the Save Bobi campaign gathered momentum, attracting support from around the world, the RSPCA said they would seek a second opinion from another vet before making a final decision on the dogâ€™s fate. That failed to placate Action Aid, which spent Â£510 to transport Bobi from Bulgaria and more than Â£1,300 on his treatment, including vaccinations and CT scans. The charityâ€™s founder, Michelle Jones, said last night that Bobi had been deemed fit enough by Defra to enter the country. â€˜That would not have been the case if he was as ill as they claim,â€™ she said. â€˜You can see in a video we took just days ago that he is a lively, active and happy boy. He deserves a chance to live, especially after everything heâ€™s gone through.â€™ Action Aid chairman Kendra Pinder said: â€˜The RSPCAâ€™s answer to everything is to kill, rather than working with the animals to make them better. This is the first time in the dogâ€™s life it has been given a chance for a better life and it has now been cruelly taken away.â€™ If the second vet decides Bobi should live, Action Aid will use funds raised through the Save Bobi campaign to buy a Â£200 doggie wheelchair and hydrotherapy, which costs about Â£35 per session. Comments by signers of the petition, on website Change.org, include claims the RSPCA is â€˜barbaricâ€™, â€˜militantâ€™ and discriminates against disabled animals. The RSPCA last night denied it had taken the decision that Bobi should be put down, saying it was on the recommendation of a vet. Support: Last night, the Save Bobi campaign gathered momentum, attracting support from across the world â€˜We visited Bobi at an address in Wales on Friday after concerns had been raised with us about his welfare. We found him to be in a poor state of health and so took him to see a vet,â€™ a spokesman said. â€˜As well as having disabled legs which were wrapped up in duct tape, he is incontinent, has pressure sores and possible internal injuries too. â€˜The first vet recommended that the kindest thing to do was to put him to sleep as he has no quality of life. On the ownerâ€™s request we have taken him to a specialist vet of the ownerâ€™s choosing. â€˜Any decision about Bobiâ€™s future will be made by vets and with Bobiâ€™s best welfare in mind.â€™