Appeal for food after pups found dumped in crate

Staff at an animal sanctuary have made an urgent appeal for dog food donations to help care for a litter of puppies found dumped in a crate.

Seven pups, believed to be spaniels, were taken in by Thornberry Animal Sanctuary near Dinnington in South Yorkshire after they were found on Sunday.

A passer-by found the puppies on the roadside around half a mile from the centre, according to staff.

Manager Helen Connelly said the centre had "never had so many puppies at one time" during her six years working there as other litters were also being cared for.

The seven puppies were found in a cage which had been covered in a sheet, Ms Connelly said.

"The sheet had actually blown off, so the person who was driving by actually saw that the crate contained puppies and stopped," she added.

Ms Connelly said the puppies were currently "residing in a room which we would normally have allocated for small animals".

"We keep hamsters and rats and small furries in that room normally," she said.

The septuplets were being treated by the sanctuary's on-site vet after they were found to be suffering from both mange and worms, staff said.

Ms Connelly asked for donations of wet puppy food for the new arrivals as other litters were already being looked after at the centre.

"We are full. We have 29 kennels on site and we’ve currently got 39 dogs in - that’s because we have another litter of puppies as well on site," she said.

"I think in my six years at Thornberry, I’ve never had so many puppies at one time."

The dogs were currently in isolation before they began the rehabilitation process, Ms Connelly said.

She explained that on Sunday she had also found what she thought was a pile of donations at the centre which actually turned out to be an abandoned cat.

Applications to house the spaniel pups were due to open on Friday, according to staff at the sanctuary.

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