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06th Nov 2019

Dog in Roscommon discovered tied to a gate trying to nurse six newborn puppies

Rudi Kinsella

dog roscommon

A harrowing image.

A lurcher dog was found nursing her six newborn puppies while chained to a gate in a field in Roscommon.

A member of the public discovered the dogs and alerted both the Gardaí and the ISPCA.

The dog and her puppies were then transported to the ISPCA National Animal Centre in Longford for urgent veterinary assessment.

Apart from being cold and hungry, they do not appear to have any major health issues, although it is unclear how long they had been left by the gate.

They are currently being closely monitored in ISPCA care.

dog roscommon

The dog has been named Emmy Lou and her little puppies are named Billy Ray, Dixie, Dolly, Dotty, June and Patsy.

They will remain in ISPCA care until the New Year when they will be old enough to be rehomed.

Speaking about the incident, ISPCA Centre Manager Hugh O’Toole said that the dog was not microchipped, which is a legal requirement.

He said: “Leaving a young dog only two years old tied up without water, food or shelter most definitely put her along with her young puppies’ lives at risk.

“We are urging pet owners to spay or neuter their pets as early as possible to reduce the high number of unwanted animals. I don’t understand how anyone can think it is okay to leave a dog tied to a gate to nurse her puppies.

“With the recent level of rainfall and cold weather this week, the outcome could have been very different and I’m happy we were alerted so we could help them.

“The dog was scanned to trace her owner but unfortunately she was not microchipped which, is a legal requirement. Our Centres are constantly full to capacity and with very limited resources, we sometimes have had to use private boarding kennels to help the number of animals waiting to come in, once space becomes available. It can also take time to find good responsible homes for the many animals in our care.”

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