Five puppies were found in separate locations in a Co. Longford area in what the Irish Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) has called an “illegal dumping”.
ISPCA senior inspector Karen Lyons received a call made to the ISPCA about alleged sighting of several pointer puppies running loose in various locations in the Longford area.
Three of the puppies, which are about four months old, had been contained by members of the public, and the immediate search began through numerous fields to locate the other puppies.
Lyons then discovered one puppy hiding deep in a hedge and was forced to crawl through to the puppy to get him to safety.
Lyons said the puppy, later called Stefan, “was shaking so much, he was that terrified”.
Although there were sightings of a fifth puppy, after continuing to comb the area for hours, it took two days of searching before he was located.
Lyons said: “There was such a vast distance where the puppies were first spotted, that it would appear someone went along the road and periodically let the pups out, one-by-one and drove off.
“The puppies, later called Bonnie, Hope, Stefan, Klaus and Samon were terrified and starving when rescued, but they are settling in well at the ISPCA’s national animal centre.
“This illegal dumping of dogs and puppies must stop, it’s cruel, inhumane, and extremely cowardly,” Lyons added.
“I don’t understand why the owner didn’t reach out and ask for help. Although every centre is full of dogs, they could have been put on a wait list or help given to arrange rehoming directly from the owner, and more effort from the owner could have been made, to find them new homes,” she explained.
The senior animal welfare inspector said that while the national animal centre is over capacity with over 100 dogs, staff are always there to help and work with owners to help find solutions.
“I would like to thank the local community so much for their vigilance in helping us locate the puppies. Once they are recovered from their ordeal, we will go about finding them loving new homes,” Lyons said.
The ISPCA is urgently calling on pet owners to please neuter or spay their dogs and puppies as soon as they are of age to help reduce the dog over-population in Ireland.
If anyone has any information in relation to the origin of these puppies, they are asked to contact the ISPCA’s national animal cruelty helpline in confidence on 0818 515 515 or to email [email protected].