Pregnant spaniel dumped hours before giving birth

A pregnant veteran spaniel who had been used for breeding for years was abandoned in the street just hours before she gave birth to a litter of puppies.

Cassie, who is thought to be over eight-years-old, had been found abandoned in Basildon and came into the care of Essex South, Southend and District Branch.

Just hours after she arrived at her foster carer's she gave birth to eight pups, but two sadly didn't make it.

Heartbreakingly, due to Cassie having been used as a breeding bitch for so many years, her poor broken body just couldn't provide the milk for the pups - and they are now being hand-reared. 

Staff at the branch made the difficult decision to separate Cassie from her pups a few days later because she had dreadful thickened itchy skin which was causing her to self-trauma. She was constantly trying to bite and scratch herself and she couldn't sit still long to keep pups warm.

As a new mum feeding her pups, there was little the vets could do to medicate her without affecting the pups¿ health. Her teats were extremely enlarged with thickened skin and the pups had a poor suckle reflex making it even harder to feed - and then her milk slowed down and the pups were starting to lose weight.

Cassie is almost blind in one eye and her belly was almost touching the floor as a result of having been bred from so often.

Kathy Butler, branch manager, said: "We sought advice from our vet and sadly the best option for the pups and also for Cassie was for her to be separated from them. The pups just wouldn't have survived if not; Cassie's teats were extremely enlarged with thickened skin and she wasn't producing enough milk for them. Fortunately a staff member at a neighbouring branch has taken on hand-feeding these pups - who are now just over a week old."

She added: 

The branch is now searching for an adopter for Cassie as she continues her recovery.

Kathy added: "She¿s been in the care of a wonderful fosterer who has other animals, and we now have a fosterer in a one on one situation. We do need to find her adopter who is local to us - as she will need ongoing vet treatment for her skin.

"She is such a wonderful sweet girl it's just heart-wrenching to see her in such a broken condition."

'Adorable and affectionate' Cassie deserves to be shown love

"Cassie has been used as a breeding bitch probably all her life; and by the state she is in it is clear she has never been shown love or affection or the basic care a dog deserves," Kathy added.

"She's not house-trained so we suspect she's never even been in a home environment.

"Cassie is loved by us all and is so adorable and affectionate. We hope that there is someone out there in the local community who could adopt her  and help her to recover from her ordeal; so that one day she can have the perfect family home that she really does deserve.

"Her pups are all doing very well and we are so grateful to our colleagues for taking them under their wing. They've doubled in weight and a lovely Dachshund, Bear, is now nurturing them too and he cleans them up and lays with them. The pups will have a bright future and we just hope we can do the same for Cassie."

To apply to adopt Cassie, please complete the branch's online application form and provide as much information as possible.

To make a donation to RSPCA Essex South and Southend District Branch to help with the care of Cassie and other animals, please visit their JustGiving page.