Box of five day old puppies abandoned in Finglas

(A litter of crossbreed puppies who have been in the care of Dogs Trust Ireland since being found in a cardboard box in a garden at just five-days old in Finglas. Photo by ©Fran Veale)

Dogs Trust is appealing for public support after seeing an influx of surrendered and abandoned dogs, including a box of five-day-old puppies that was recently handed into their rehoming centre in Dublin.

A shocked member of the public discovered the abandoned litter of four crossbreed pups in his garden in Finglas, in a cardboard box.

The man immediately brought the tiny siblings to Dogs Trust where it was established by the charity’s Veterinary team that they were no more than five days old.

Niamh Curran-Kelly, Veterinary and Welfare Manager at Dogs Trust Ireland explained: “Puppies of this age are completely and utterly dependant on their mum.

“Their eyes and ears are closed and they’re unable to toilet themselves or regulate their body temperature, so they wouldn’t have survived much longer their own.

“Thankfully, they got to us in time so we could give them the care they needed, including bottle feeding and toileting them every two hours.

“Sadly, the smallest of the litter passed away, despite veterinary intervention but unfortunately this is quite common with orphaned puppies.”

Ciara Murran, Head of Communications at Dogs Trust Ireland at Dogs Trust Ireland continued: “We have been overwhelmed with almost 500 surrender requests since the beginning of the year.

“As a charity that receives no government funding, we are appealing to the public to help support our life-saving work by sponsoring a dog or a puppy playgroup so we can continue to help the dogs who need us the most.”

The four puppies, who the charity suspect may be Pomeranian crossbreeds, have now been rehomed and are settling into loving homes after their traumatic start to life.

Please donate what you can or consider Sponsoring a Dog or a Puppy Playgroup online.