RSPCA: Dachshund puppy in plastic bag and "decomposed" chow found in Yorkshire in suspicious circumstances

RSPCA officers have collected the bodies of two dogs who were sadly found dead in Wakefield and Barnsley, under "suspicious circumstances".

The charity was alerted after members of the public made the heartbreaking discoveries on Saturday, January 20 and Wednesday, January 24.

The latest incident involved a female dachshund puppy, who was only aged between four and six weeks old.

She was put in a plastic bag, wrapped in a blanket, and abandoned in bushes on Pontefract Road, Wakefield.

A veterinary examination showed the puppy had ringworm and alopecia, the latter of which appeared to have been treated with Sudocrem. 

She is believed to have died less than 24 hours earlier, after a flea treatment was applied and made her unwell.

In the earlier of the two incidents, a chow-type dog was found in a stream, off the High Street in Grimethorpe, Barnsley.

The matted, tan-coloured dog, thought to be female, was found in a stream, "bloated and decomposed".

There were no obvious injuries, but it was not possible to do an examination because of the length of time she’d been in the water. 

She had been covered by a blue blanket next to her discarded bed.

A scan revealed a foreign microchip which could not be traced, and officers believe the circumstances in which she was found with her bed are suspicious.

Animal rescue officer Ollie Wilkes, who collected the body of the dachshund puppy, said: "For those of us who love our pets and treat them as part of the family, it’s difficult to understand how someone could dump the body of a dog in circumstances like these.

"Every abandonment call we get tells a different story, but the cost of living crisis is clearly having an impact. 

"Sadly, with more owners feeling the pinch, we've seen many resorting to desperate measures - like dumping animals who perhaps become ill or they can no longer afford or don’t want anymore.

"Coupled with a boom in pet ownership during the pandemic - with some new owners potentially unprepared for the long-term commitment - it has left us facing huge animal welfare challenges.

"Incidents like this are extremely upsetting for members of the public to come across, and we’d like to thank everyone who stopped to help."

A third case is also being investigated in Yorkshire after a muzzled XL Bully dog was found on Monday, January 22 after she was believed to have been thrown to her death from a bridge in Sheffield.

Incidents of animal abandonment across the country are at a three-year high, with 20,999 reports of dumped animals coming to the RSPCA’s emergency line in 2023.

This is up 30 per cent from 2020, when there were 16,118 reports.

The charity says the current economic climate, combined with the pandemic, has created a perfect storm for animal welfare and its officers are seeing the impact on the frontline.

Anyone with information about these incidents can contact the RSPCA’s appeals line on 0300 123 8018.