Pup Appeal Dogs Trust Ireland appeal to public after box of puppies abandoned in Dublin garden

Dogs Trust Ireland received nearly 500 surrender requests since January

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, Dublin. The charity is appealing for support after an overwhelming start to the year, having received almost 500 surrender requests since January. Picture: Fran Veale

Seoirse Mulgrew

March 14 2022 09:41 AM

Ireland’s largest dog welfare charity has appealed to the public for support after seeing an influx of surrendered and abandoned dogs.

Dogs Trust Ireland received nearly 500 surrender requests since January including a box of five-day-old puppies that was recently handed into their rehoming centre in Dublin.

The charity said it is “overwhelmed” with the sheer volume of dogs that now need rehoming.

Dogs trust said a 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,” a spokesperson for the charity said.

The veterinary and welfare manager at Dogs Trust Ireland said puppies of this age are “completely and utterly” dependent on their mum.

Niamh Curran-Kelly said: “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.”

Picture: Fran Veale

The charity currently has 205 dogs in its care and rehomes dogs across the country via its regional rehoming programme.

The head of communications at Dogs Trust Ireland appealed for members of the public to support the charity by sponsoring a dog.

Ciara Murran said: “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.