The RSPCA has been caring for its “thinnest dog” as it dealt with a record number of abandoned animals over the festive period.
On New Year’s Day, 43 abandonment incidents came into the charity across the country, including three-year-old Peanut who was found near Dunton Lane in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.
Poorly peanut, a lurcher, had pressure sores on her legs from laying on hard surfaces and had been visibly starved before she was rescued by a Cambridgeshire branch of the RSPCA.
The charity said it feared more cases like Peanut as financial hardships increased.
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The charity said a total of 84 pets were left at its centres across the country on 27 December – the most abandonment incidents logged in a day.
Kennel supervisor at the RSPCA Cambridge and district branch, Tiffany Saunders, said Peanut had been “lifeless” but there were signs of improvement each day.
“She’s certainly feeling much better though and it is really lovely to see her tail wag,” Ms Saunders said.
“Her weight gain is understandably a bit of a slow process as she was incredibly emaciated, so we are needing to introduce her food in small regular meals.
“She is under the care of a vet and the plan is to continue to build her weight back up. She has a great appetite so we are fairly confident at this stage that she has just been starved and that illness isn’t the cause of her current emaciated state.”
‘How could anyone allow this to happen?’
David Allen, an RSPCA animal rescue officer, said Peanut’s condition was “appalling and quite shocking”.
He wanted to speak to anyone with information regarding the dog’s owner or who may have seen someone acting suspiciously in the area.
“She’s the thinnest dog I have ever seen and I cannot understand how anyone could allow this to happen,” Mr Allen said.
“She was microchipped, and the person who was registered on the chip had sold her on when she was just six months old.”
The RSPCA said overall it had 22,503 incidents in 2024.
It feared a surge in spontaneous pet ownership during Covid-19 and financial hardships would carry the increasing number of abandonments into 2025.
Between 18 December and 31 December 2024 it reported 846 incidents.
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