A woman has been left "traumatised" after 12 dogs were dumped in a field in a "horrendous state". Val Phillips, founder of Valgrays Border Collie and Animal Rescue, received a call about a dog roaming around a field in Oxted, Surrey.
But when she showed up to rescue the poor pooch, she quickly discovered she was not the only one who had been carelessly cast aside by her owner. She told The Mirror: "Twelve dogs were dumped in our village in a horrendous state - but they are now going to get a better future."
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Using a drone, Val and her friends were able to round up the dogs and took them into their care to provide them with some much-needed medical attention.
The dogs are thought to be cockapoos, schnauzer and westiepoo crossbreeds.
She said: "It must have been one of the most traumatic days of my life in animal rescue.
"There were several puppies and dogs running around and with the help of several local people we started rounding up the dogs.
"As we were doing this, a gentleman stopped by to say that he had picked up some puppies the previous evening.
"Another lady said she had seen puppies running around and a motorist stopped to say that there was another further down the road. By this time, our heads were spinning.
"Another friend helped in the search with a drone and we eventually located two adult dogs and 10 puppies.
"The mothers and puppies were in very bad condition and quite clearly they had been dumped in the field, presumably from some form of puppy farm that no longer thought that they would be economically viable."
Since the Covid-19 lockdown came to an end, there has been a shocking increase in puppy dumping across the UK, as the market returns to 'normal'.
"Mass dumping seems to be the thing now as the puppy sales have dropped out of the window," Val told The Mirror. "We are seeing more and more unwanted dogs - it is heartbreaking.
"The puppy industry has collapsed, people are not purchasing now so the greedy dealers now have to off load and dump.
"The government need to seriously look at this market and the councils need to stop giving out licensing and firmer checks on premises need to be addressed."
It comes just days after 20 puppies were rescued by the RSPCA after being dumped inside a metal crate and abandoned on a layby.
The helpless puppies were found by a member of the public who was walking in the Blackmore area of Essex.
RSPCA Inspector Sian Ridley and Animal Rescue Officer Enola Evans collected the pups and took them straight to a local vet for treatment.
Sian said: "When I was told how many puppies there were I actually thought there was a mistake - I couldn’t believe that someone had abandoned 20 puppies
"They were all quite scared and timid when we arrived and it was just heartbreaking to see them all huddled in the one cage - they looked a pitiful sight.
"It is difficult to know where these have come from. It could have been a I suspect that these may be a puppy farm but they were friendly, clean and did not have fleas so they may not have been kept in a shed without human contact.
"It is also unusual that such a large number of the pups are male and I wonder if that was the reason they had been abandoned, because they wouldn’t be useful for breeding or are harder to sell on."
Do you have a dog story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
