Puppies abandoned in shoebox reunited with their mum at RSPCA shelter

A litter of tiny puppies have been reunited with their mum after being abandoned in a shoebox. The seven two-week-old pups were found by a member of the public and left outside Braintree District Council office last month.

The dogs were then taken to the RSPCA’s Danaher Animal Home, in Wethersfield, Essex. General manager of the shelter Sam Garvey said: “We have no idea what happened to the puppies or where they came from but we’re incredibly grateful to the kind passerby who found them and brought them into our care.

“We believe the puppies are terrier crosses but they were far too little to be away from their mum so I took them home with me to hand-rear them and keep a close eye on them. I had to feed them every few hours and thankfully they’ve been doing well and continue to get stronger and stronger.”

Danaher launched a fundraiser - Pound for a Pup - to help with the costs of caring for the puppies. Sam added: “Then, something special happened. A local dog warden brought in a dog who’d been found abandoned nearby and she appeared to be the puppies’ mum. It was like a miracle!

“Sadly, she wasn’t in a good condition, she was very scruffy and skinny, but we tried to gently introduce her to the puppies and, although she was happy to see them, they didn’t form the bond we’d all hoped for.”

Crossbreed mum - who the team named Samantha, after manager Sam, who’d stepped in as mum to handrear the puppies - settled in quickly. She was dirty and thin with matted fur when was found wandering on 15 May, but she soon made herself at home.

“Samantha was so gentle and loving,” Sam said. “But although it was lovely to reunite her with the puppies she didn’t settle right in to take on the role of mum again, as it had been so long, so we decided to keep them separate.

“Thankfully, she found her new home quickly and is settling in wonderfully with her lovely new family. The puppies continue to grow and are becoming cheeky, playful dogs in our care. They’re not ready for rehoming yet and we’ll put their profiles on our website as soon as they’re up for adoption.

“We’re so incredibly happy that all of the puppies are doing really well and have survived this crucial time where they should have been with their mum. We are appealing to anybody that can to donate a pound for a pup to help us, help them.”

The puppies - who were named after the Friends characters Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Phoebe, Joey and Gunther following a social media competition - are now believed to be around seven weeks old.