A Good Samaritan was out for a stroll in Essex, England, one afternoon when they noticed an abandoned crate on the side of the road — and were absolutely shocked by who they found inside.
20 fluffy little puppies were all huddled up together in the crate, waiting for someone to notice them. The kind passerby knew they had to help and quickly sprang into action. They contacted the RSPCA in hopes that they could help, and the rescue immediately sent two inspectors to collect the puppies and get them to a vet as quickly as possible.
“When I was told how many puppies there were, I actually thought there was a mistake,” Sian Ridley, an inspector with the RSPCA, said in a press release. “I couldn’t believe that someone had abandoned 20 puppies! They were all quite scared and timid when we arrived and it was just heartbreaking to see them all huddled in the one cage — they looked a pitiful sight.”
As the puppies were examined, the vets discovered that they were probably from a few different litters. No one is sure exactly what kind of dogs they are, but they think they’re some kind of poodle mixes. The puppies were all pretty small, weighing less than a bag of sugar, and the vets were worried they might be sick. Luckily, though, most of them were actually really healthy despite being abandoned.
“I want to say a huge thank you to all the passersby who stayed to help these pups and also to the vets who were able to take on the care of [the] pups over a weekend at such short notice,” Ridley said. “It is difficult to know where these [puppies] have come from … I suspect that [they] may be [from] a puppy farm.”
Since there were so many puppies, their rescuers decided to name them in alphabetical order: Albert, Boris, Casper, Dylon, Elenor, Freddie, Guinever, Hank, Irene, Jeremiah, Kaleb, Luna, Morris, Nevel, Oliver, Peter, Quinton, Rupert and Saffron. The pups range in age from 6 to 8 weeks and are currently growing into themselves and learning to be playful little puppies.
Many of the puppies have already been offered homes by members of the vet staff who have been caring for them since they were rescued. They’re all currently in foster homes and will head off to their forever homes once they’re ready.
Everyone involved with this rescue was shocked at how many puppies had been abandoned. Luckily, though, they were found and will now go on to have wonderful lives with amazing families.
“Times are tough at the moment, but abandoning tiny puppies like this is so irresponsible and cruel. Please, please never abandon your pet but ask for help before things get so desperate,” Ridley said.
