Dusty the dog was dumped and left to give birth to her puppies in a wheelie bin. The young dog was so badly neglected that she died yesterday afternoon, despite the best efforts of Animals in Need Northwest who found her in a bin with her puppies at an abandoned Travellers site in Strabane. Council animal welfare officers had visited the dog over the weekend but did not deem it to be an emergency.
Gareth Connor, founder of Animals in Need NW, said: “We’d heard there was a mother and pups there and she was very small so we initially thought she was the only one, but then there was a noise and we found the puppies. We think they were probably born on Sunday morning. She’d given birth in that wheelie bin. She’d been dumped there when she was pregnant. She was in a wild state. It was really awful.”
Mr Connor added: “If she had been left one more night, they would have all died. The pups were freezing. It’s December and the weather on Sunday night wasn’t great. Thank goodness we found them when we did.”
One of the six pups had died in the bin and the rest were left fighting for their lives as their ill mother stopped producing milk for them to feed on. Dusty, named so because she was found in a dustbin, was rushed to the Drumahoe Veterinary Practice in Londonderry on Sunday night but she had horrific internal injuries and died yesterday afternoon.
Mr Connor added: “The vets were fantastic. She was kept in overnight and Declan the vet stayed with her all night, but with further investigations, they discovered she had fluid in her lungs and internal bleeding and she died. This is an extreme case. Karen, one of the girls who helped to rescue her, said this is one of the worst cases of neglect that she’s come across and she’s been volunteering for 16 years.”
Dusty’s five puppies are now being reared by hand in foster homes across Northern Ireland. Animals in Need NW is now asking for donations to help it care for the tiny puppies. Anyone who would like to help pay for their vet bills can call Drumahoe vets on 028 7131 1448. For more information visit their Facebook page Animals in need N.W.