Six puppies thrown in a bag and dumped shows why de-sexing animals is important

A litter of six pups were dumped on the side of the road in Flaxmere and taken to the SPCA Hastings Centre.

A litter of six puppies was dumped in a bag along Henderson Road in Flaxmere, and found by a member of the public.

The puppy rescuer removed the litter - believed to be less than two months old - from the bag and took them to the Hastings SPCA in the only thing they had available, a recycling container.

SPCA Napier Centre Manager Joy Walker said luckily, the day they were found was a nice and clear day with a manageable high of 15 degrees and believed they would have only been in the bag for a few hours.

Walker said that when the puppies came in, “they were young, thin, and full of worms, but otherwise thankfully they were okay, and with a bit of TLC, yummy food and a good worming they recovered quickly.”

Waipukurau teeny-tiny neonate puppy Elsa joins abandoned Flaxmere pup pack.

Now three months old, the litter has settled into the SPCA like champions after spending a few weeks in a foster home where they received care, love, and recovery.

All six pups are sweet and soft-natured and have welcomed another abandoned puppy into their pack.

The seventh puppy adopted into the pack of siblings is Elsa from Waipukurau, who was found as a teeny-tiny neonate (newborn).

“She spent several weeks in foster care before coming to our Hastings Centre. She then started playing with the others, and they all got along so well that the staff decided to join them all together,” Walker said.

When asked if dogs being dumped was more common, Walker said, unfortunately, it happens more often than she would like.

“There isn’t really a pattern, but it does happen, not just for SPCA but also for our local Animal Controls; they see it a lot, too,” she said.

While no one knows exactly why people abandon dogs, Hastings SPCA believes a combination of factors, including the cost of living, unplanned pregnancies, and some lack of education, plays a part.

Walker explained that dogs can have puppies before they are a year old, and they don’t often just have a couple. Litters are often large, and that can be overwhelming.

“De-sexing is the obvious solution,” said Walker.

However, if people have financial concerns about this, SPCA may be able to help. In some cases, animal control will also help, or your local vet may have a payment plan option.

If you want to help the SPCA and have space in your house and heart, consider fostering for your local centre.

The SPCA website provides all the details and information about the process. Alternatively, contributions to the community de-sexing fund are always welcome.

Maddisyn Jeffares became the editor of the Hawke’s Bay community papers Hastings Leader and Napier Courier in 2023 after writing at the Hastings Leader for almost a year. She has been a reporter with NZME for almost three years and has a strong focus on what’s going on in communities, good and bad, big and small. Email news tips to her at: maddisyn.jeffares@nzme.co.nz