Eight puppies will be spending their Christmas behind bars after being dumped at the Tauranga SPCA's front gate in a washing basket and rubbish sack.
Six shar pei cross puppies were dumped in a rubbish sack and two mastiff cross puppies were found in a washing basket outside the SPCA in the past two weeks.
These eight puppies are some of the worst recent cases of animal dumping at the SPCA and all are currently in foster care because of their ages.
Tauranga SPCA animal welfare inspector Anna Porteous said the number of animals taken to the SPCA soared at this time of year and the organisation was bracing itself to get even busier this holiday season.
Unwanted animals were steadily coming into the Greerton centre.