RSPCA appeal after litter of puppies with deadly virus dumped in Basildon
The RSPCA says its recently seen a spate of puppies being abandoned
The RSPCA in Southend is appearing for help after taking in a litter of sick puppies which were found dumped in a street in South Essex.
A total of six were brought into an emergency vet last week - three passed away, while the remaining three are being treated for a potentially deadly virus.
All were abandoned down Borwick Lane in Basildon and are just the latest in a series of puppies being dumped in the area.
The pups, which have been named Harold, Herbert and Hazel are thought to be around eight weeks old.
They are a pointer type breed. Two are boys and one is a girl.
All are being treated for suspected parvovirus, a highly contagious condition that attacks the intestines.
RSPCA Essex South, Southend and District Branch manager Kathy Butler said: “It is heartbreaking that someone chose to abandon these poor puppies when they were so sick.
“Three of the pups died and we are doing all that we can to help the remaining three, one of the pups tested positive and we are keeping a close eye on the other two. We are all just hoping that they will be strong enough to pull through - but parvovirus is an horrific infection and, sadly, it can kill young, unvaccinated dogs very quickly.
“We are grateful to the finders of the puppies who caught them and took them to a local vets. The surviving three were transferred to our vets and have started anti viral treatments they need.
“This is the third litter of pups with parvo that we have taken in this year - their vet bills combined have cost thousands and thousands of pounds.
Thankfully though the two litters - one of Newfoundland and another of cockapoos - all recovered following their treatment.”
“Sadly we have seen a spate of abandonments of puppies recently - we had three pups dumped in a box outside our vet a couple of weeks ago and another puppy about 6 weeks old underweight with a prolapse a few days before that too.”
A fundraiser has been set up to fund the puppies' care.