The RSPCA is appealing for information after the body of an underweight dead puppy was discovered dumped in bushes in an Aldi shopping bag.
The animal welfare charity was alerted by a dog walker who found the body of the tiny black and white collie type puppy on Bridge Road on Sunday 3 October.
The pup was very thin and not microchipped – though there were no obvious injuries or markings on the young animal. A vet who later examined the puppy thought the animal had likely been dead for no more than a day or two.
Due to the investigation, the RSPCA is not revealing the puppy’s sex and is appealing for people to come forward with information about the incident.
RSPCA inspector Christine Styles, said: “We would like to thank the kind dog walker for contacting us as this was obviously a very distressing find for her.
“At this stage we don’t know whether this puppy died of natural causes or in suspicious circumstances but the fact that the body was tossed away like rubbish in a bag does raise questions.
“I’m extremely concerned about this puppy, and how this poor animal came to be found like this, and I am appealing to local people to get in touch with the RSPCA if they saw suspicious activity in the area at the time or they know who this puppy belonged to.”
Anyone with information should call the RSPCA inspectorate appeal line, in confidence, on 0300 123 8018.
Last year the RSPCA received 1,016,455 calls from members of the public, the equivalent to one every 30 seconds. Over 56,500 of those calls were incidents concerning dogs.
