Abandoned litter of seven puppies found in bucket on woman's car

Struggling owners have been urged to contact a welfare charity after the discovery of an abandoned litter of seven puppies.

Dogs Trust is a support organisation
which takes in canines after relationship breakdowns, finance issues and family crises.

A woman out walking returned to her car to discover a bucket on the roof containing pups so young their eyes hadn’t opened fully.

She contacted Dogs Trust who took the tiny animals into their puppy wing in their rehoming centre in Finglas in Dublin.

Labrador cross puppy Hope (pictured here at 2 weeks) who has been in the care of Dogs Trust since she was found in a bucket on the roof of a woman's car in Co Meath at just two weeks old. Being so helpless and without a mum, the pup required bottle feeding every two hours and round-the-clock care, but is now thriving. The charity is appealing to people who are struggling to look after their dogs, for any reason, to contact them (Fran Veale)

Manager Maciej Trojanowicz said: “We are very worried about their mum, what happened to her and why she was separated from her puppies and would urge her owner to contact us.

“Bottle feeding puppies is very rewarding but exhausting, especially throughout the night and there is always a fear with puppies so young that they might not survive.

“Thankfully, these little ones seem to be strong and healthy and we think they will be quite large when fully grown, given their size for their age.”

• For details go to www.dogstrust.ie.