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Happy ending to Donegal puppy tail
23.04.14
ALMOST 30 puppies found
in a filthy and neglected state in Co Donegal have
found happy 'furever' homes.
The discovery of 28 springer spaniels and one young
Labrador at a property near Lifford, Co Donegal in
January shocked animal welfare groups. |
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Weak and neglected...some of the
neglected spaniel pups huddled together after they
were rescued in Co Donegal in January. |
The pups, aged from
three-to-five months, were found huddled together in
their own excrement. They could barely stand up and
were petrified of human contact.
They were being fed by their owner but their coats
were severely discoloured and completely caked in
their own filth.
Seventeen of the animals were discovered during an
ISPCA inspection shortly after eleven pups were
voluntarily surrendered by their owner who had
become ill.
Such was the scale of the operation, the 29 animals
had to be divided among four animal rescue groups,
north and south, for intensive care.
Donegal Pet Rescue took in the first eleven pups
with six each going to Donegal’s Animals in Need and
the Rainbow Re-homing Centre and Assisi Animal
Sanctuary in counties Derry and Down, respectively. |
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Happy tail...Lucky the springer
spaniel lives up to his name after surviving a
serious case of neglect in Co Donegal. |
Public appeals saw
donations flood in to help with feeding, grooming,
spaying and other bills.
Donegal Pet Rescue fostering co-ordinator Ryan
McCauley described the case as one of the most
"gruesome" he had seen. He praised the compassionate
response to the animals' plight from the public and
counterpart organisations across the border.
He said after about two months’ intensive treatment,
all the dogs had now left foster care for permanent
homes across Donegal and the North.
"We are delighted to say that all of them have been
re-homed. It is an absolutely brilliant result from
what started out as a heartbreaking case," he said.
"It is a very good outcome to what could have been
had the pups been left any longer where they were." |
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Here's Lucy...One of the gorgeous
springer spaniel pups who was rescued along with 28
others near Lifford, Co Donegal, last January. |
Mr McCauley said the
dogs were re-homed individually. He said they were
still quite timid but were settling well and growing
more confident by the day in their new homes.
"They are still a bit shy and nervous with strangers
but they are ten times more outgoing than they were
when they were found,” he added. |
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