News

The brindle crossbred, who vets believe is only 14 months old, was handed into Folkestone Police Station after being found by a child in Radnor Park. She was taken to local kennels by the council where she gave birth to 11 puppies four days later.

The puppies are being fed by hand every two hours because the dog, nicknamed Lacey, was in such a poor condition and so young that she would not have been able to cope with such a big litter on her own.

Council Community Safety Officer, Karyl Rimmer, said the dog was so badly infested with fleas that parts of her back were hairless and her tummy raw from constant scratching. She also had to be wormed.

"She's not much more than a puppy herself. It breaks my heart that someone could let her get into such a bad condition, allow her to get pregnant and then abandon her just days before she was due to give birth."

Lacey and the puppies will be looking for homes in seven weeks' time. Other dogs at the kennels looking for a loving, permanent home include a male collie cross who was handed to Shepway Council after being found in Dymchurch and a large mastiff cross who was found collapsed by a roadside with dog-bites to his lower body.