'Finder' of dumped Laois pups admits he's the owner 

A MAN who told a Laois animal charity that he ‘discovered’ six tiny puppies dumped in a field has come forward to admit he is the owner.

The individual initially contacted Cara Rescue Dogs, claiming that he found the puppies in a crate in a remote field.

After volunteers issued an online appeal, the man finally admitted five days later that he was responsible.

The charity said on social media today: ‘He said it was out of fear and worry that no one would help. He felt he couldn’t be honest from the start.’ 

The Mountmellick-based charity, which mainly provides foster homes locally and in surrounding counties, pointed out that if the person responsible had contacted them weeks ago they could have taken time to arrange foster homes, instead of ‘being contacted early on a Sunday morning with a fabricated story to force us into immediate action’. 

The charity said: ‘It was an abuse of our voluntary service.’ 

Fortunately, the pups were in very good condition and volunteers believe the owner ‘genuinely had their best interest at heart’, but they stressed that it was still unacceptable to use the charity as a dumping ground under false pretences.

After the puppies were ‘found’ on Sunday 17 August, the charity shared the story on the Cara Rescue Dogs Facebook page, appealing for the person responsible to come forward so they could learn more about the pups, their mother and their background.

They said: ‘This is a message for the person that left these six pups in a remote field early this morning in this crate. You have this one chance to come forward and contact us. If you do, given that the pups don’t look emaciated and mangy, we will promise your anonymity. We just want to know some details about the pups and we will even help neuter the mammy dog.’ 

Volunteers warned: ‘If you don’t come forward, we will stop at nothing to find you. You’d be very surprised how technology and CCTV, combined with easily accessible DNA testing, can speed things up. And rest assured we will name you publicly.’ 

In an update today, Sunday 24 August, the charity said: ‘Five days later, we received a message. The man who originally told us he ‘found’ the pups admitted that he was in fact their owner.

‘We want to make something VERY clear: our rescue would never turn away vulnerable young pups in need. Had the truth been shared from the beginning, we absolutely would have helped. If for any reason we couldn’t take them directly, we would have reached out to our network and ensured that they were safe. We would never allow puppies to be abandoned in a field, no matter the circumstances.

‘We are in the process to have the mother of these puppies neutered to make sure this never happens again. This situation could have been avoided entirely if she had been spayed to begin with - and that is exactly why we are constantly appealing to people to spay and neuter their pets. Male or female, it takes two, and it is the responsibility of owners to prevent unwanted litters.

‘To be absolutely clear: while we will always to the best of our abilities step in to save any age dog in crisis, we are NOT a dumping ground. Abandoning animals is never acceptable. If people just did their bit and had a little dose of ‘cop on’, situations like this wouldn’t happen in the first place. Thankfully, these little ones are now safe in foster care, loved and beginning their journey.'

The charity added: ‘We share this update not to assign blame, but to remind our community that honesty and responsibility save lives. If you, or someone you know, ever finds yourself unable to care for an animal, please reach out. There is always help available. If owners are responsible enough to take our advice and guidance, we will always do everything we can to make sure no animal is left behind. But we don’t have a magic wand for an instant fix.’ 

The charity also thanked their generous fosterers, whom they described as ‘the unsung heroes and heartbeat of every volunteer rescue group’.