Eight abandoned pups found dead in Co Carlow
The only surviving pups Photo: Carlow Kilkenny Dog Shelter
“YOU only had to call us and ask for help” is the message from a local animal welfare charity to the owner of a litter of puppies dumped in south Carlow last weekend.
A fisherman made the grim discovery at Clashganny, when he came across a plastic bag containing ten newborn puppies, thought to be only days old. Sadly, only two survived.
‘There were another eight pups that sadly didn’t make it,’ said a spokesperson from Carlow-Kilkenny Dog Shelter online.
‘They had been callously dumped in a plastic bag. The pups are only days old.’ It’s not known how long the pups had been left, but the surviving two were severely dehydrated and weak when they were found along with their deceased siblings.
The Paulstown-based charity said they were able to get an experienced foster ‘mammy’ on board to care for the puppies, but this is just a temporary measure. They issued an appeal for information. ‘If anyone knows who might own these pups or know where the mother is, please contact us. To the person who dumped them, you only had to call us and ask for help; yet again, more dogs suffering due to the actions of their owners.’ Jane Hammond Kelly of Carlow SPCA, who received the initial call from a local vet alerting her to the situation, told The Nationalist: “I don’t think this is something you ever get used to. You learn how to deal with it, but the impact is very strong every time … when you see so many animals being neglected and abused.” She says the situation is getting worse and that the country is saturated with unwanted dogs, largely because of puppy farming, over-breeding and the remnants of Covid, when many people found themselves at home.
“We’ve been seeing the impact of Covid for two years now with more and more calls from people trying to offload their dogs,” she said, adding that the government needs to do something to tackle illegal breeding.
Jane said that incidents such as these are “very sadly a regular occurrence. Last week, I got two puppies at the Barrow in Carlow town. They were only four weeks old. One didn’t make it; the other is doing well,” she said.
Happily, the two pups in this latest incident are doing well, although Jane cautioned it is a day-by-day situation. She praised the work of the Carlow Kilkenny Dog Shelter and urged anyone interested in helping with fostering or fundraising to get in touch with their local rescue. She also stressed the importance of neutering animals and urged those struggling to ask for help rather than opting to act inhumanely.
