3 puppies die inside cardboard box after being abandoned in extreme heat, spaniels were victims of 'cruel trade'
Two puppies, who were rescued in a cardboard box, which was dumped in a lay-by in Essex on one of hottest days of the year have died, reports state. The dogs were found by a cyclist on Saturday, August 8, when the temperature in the region soared to 86F (30 degrees Celcius). A third puppy, who was also found in the cardboard, however, was already dead when found. The puppies were believed to be around eight weeks old. The cyclist who found the puppies in the box said that he spotted the canines when one of them "peeked" out of the box.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) said that the spaniels could have been imported from abroad to sell in the region, however, it appeared that they were abandoned after they fell sick. The puppies, according to the charity, were microchipped with a Hungarian chip which isn’t registered in the UK. The foreign microchip suggests that the spaniels were victims of the "cruel puppy trade."
The RSPCA's chief inspector of Essex, Samantha Garvey, in a statement on the incident, said that the animals were killed by suspected parvovirus, which is a highly contagious disease and can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration. Garvey called the case "horrific" and added that it was "possible" the animals were from a puppy farm.
"We see it a lot. Dogs are brought across because they are cheaper to source and import for sale from Europe than they are in the UK," she said. "It’s a problem of supply and demand. A lot of people are off work [because of the coronavirus pandemic] and think it’s the perfect time to get a puppy. I would just ask that people really do their research and not agree to buy any animals who they have reason to believe are sick."
The RSPCA has asked anyone with information about how the spaniels were abandoned by the side of the road to contact them.
In a similar incident, months into the coronavirus lockdown in the US, multiple puppies and dogs were found dead and stuffed in a bag at a city park in Las Vegas in May. The dogs were reportedly discovered on May 8, at Desert Breeze Park. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police were called to the scene where they found a mother dog and a few puppies tied up in a large plastic bag. The canines appeared to have been suffocated.
Authorities estimated that the bag had been at the park for at least a few days because of the state the dogs' bodies were in. Reports state that they were already decomposing. The man who found the bag said that he only wanted to be identified as "Joe" because he was afraid of possible retaliation from whoever was responsible for the horrible act.
"There was a mother dog and a few puppies in there that someone had tied up, and looks like they may have suffocated them," he told KNTV. Joe added that the bag was initially found by his own dog who ran over to the plastic bag after he let her off her leash. He described the scene, saying that the bag was surrounded by blood and there was a strong odor emanating from the area.