More than 40 Yorkshire terrier dogs and puppies left to fend for themselves after their owner died are set to find new homes
- The RSPCA is working to rehome 40 dogs that were found in a Kent bungalow
- The dogs had been left to fend for themselves after their owner died
The RSPCA is working to rehome over 40 dogs and puppies that were rescued from a bungalow in Kent after their owner was found dead.
RSPCA teams have been caring for the group of Yorkshire terriers who range in age from four weeks to ten years for two weeks after police made the shocking discovery.
On January 15th, officers were called to the house in Rainham over concerns for a man’s welfare when they discovered his dead body.
A large scale week long RSPCA operation was launched to recover the dogs who had been left to fend for themselves for days
Due to the sheer number of animals in the cluttered property, teams had to install night cameras and lay traps in the loft to catch every dog.
The dogs had been left to fend for themselves for days after their owner passed away
The dogs are now in the care of the RSPCA and will be given new homes
An RSPCA trap which was used to catch one of the dogs that was found at the bungalow in Rainham, Kent
Animal rescue officer Brian Milligan and Inspector Clive Hopwood lead the rescue mission.
Mr Milligan said: ‘The last two puppies we found were caught using a cat trap, which proved a tricky process as the dogs were too light to set the traps off.
‘All in all this was a difficult exercise, which saw the RSPCA deploy significant resources to clear the property and ensure we found all the dogs.
‘We went to the house every day over a week to conduct extensive searches to rescue every dog – in the end we had to clear every room.’
RSPCA officers have returned to the bungalow and confirmed that no dogs have been left behind.
The rescued dogs are now being cared for at several RSPCA animal centres and a small number are to be taken on by a local charity which works with the RSPCA.
A spokesman at one animal centre, which is looking after ten dogs and four puppies, said: ‘We are letting the dogs acclimatise to their surroundings by paying good attention to their handling.
‘They are being kept in pairs because they have been living in a multiple dog household. We need to spend some time assessing their individual personalities.
‘They will all have their coats clipped, but as far as their health is concerned there was nothing major, although there were some with dental issues.
‘However, many of these dogs are very fearful, which is understandable as they have endured such a bad experience.
‘It is going to be a slow process to help them feel safe again and find them new homes, so we will be taking things at their pace.’
Over 40 terrified terriers were rescued from the Kent bungalow and all have been taken into care
Catching the animals was a massive rescue operation over a number of days
Mystery still abounds in the area of the Rainham where the dogs were found with neighbours reportedly completely unaware he kept so many animals.
One of his neighbours said: ‘He helped people out. He would always come round and help you. He was quite a clever man.’
The deceased owner’s relatives helped the RSPCA with the recovery and were unaware of the extent of the problems at the property.
The police are not treating his death as suspicious.
A spokesman for the police said: ‘RSPCA rescuers were asked to attend an address in Pump Lane last week, and a number of dogs and puppies were removed from the property and are now in our care.
They added: ‘A man was found deceased and his death is not being treated as suspicious.’
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