Two puppies who were rescued alongside 34 others from a ‘boiling hot’ caravan filled with rubbish are now living fabulous new lives by the sea.
RSPCA officers were called to an industrial estate in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on 26 July 2021 when locals raised the alarm.
Inspector Georgina Bowles said: “There were concerns about a caravan that had turned up in the car park with a large number of puppies inside. We were particularly worried as it was a roasting hot day so we called the police for urgent help to access the caravan.”
Inside, they found one dog and 35 puppies living in filthy, hazardous conditions in the dilapidated caravan. The sickest were rushed to a local vet while the others were assessed and moved to RSPCA Patcham Animal Centre in nearby Brighton.
Inspector Bowles added: “Some of the puppies were really poorly, many had diarrhoea and some tested positive for campylobacter (a lethal disease that causes diarrhoea and can spread to humans).”
Sussex Police investigated offences* and the RSPCA assisted with interviewing the owner of the caravan and taking care of the dogs.
Staff worked round-the-clock to nurse the dogs back to health but, despite their best efforts, sadly two died. They then worked tirelessly to get the young dogs into loving foster homes.
Inspector Bowles even took some of the puppies home herself – and roped in her family members.
“Sadly one of the puppies was due to foster passed away, which was really upsetting,” Inspector Bowles said. “We ended up taking three of the Dachshund puppies home for a few weeks and while my mum was around she fell in love with Pepper and ended up fostering her. Needless to say, Pepper never left!
“My brother, Rhys, also offered to help and he took in Eddie, one of the Labrador puppies.
“Eddie was really poorly with suspected campylobacter and giardia (a parasite that causes intestinal infection) and his brother sadly passed away. Eddie was suffering from diarrhoea and sickness and had to be hospitalised and put on a drip but thankfully he was a little fighter and he pulled through.
“Now Pepper and Eddie are both part of the family and they get to see each other regularly which is lovely. They both live by the sea and are the perfect examples of a rags to riches story’ now living fabulous, healthy and happy lives with people who love them.”
Inspector Bowles’ mum, Ellen Ashwood, from Hastings, wasn’t planning to get a puppy – but had always wanted Daschund. She said: “When this happened I said I’d help and foster but when Pepper arrived I didn’t want to give her up. For the first few months she still had a bad tummy but she settled in straight away.
“She’s such a character and she’s certainly living life to the full. She’s very energetic and loves going for new walks. We’re National Trust members so she loves to visit new places with us.
“She loves playing with her toys, doing puzzles and learning new things. She’s very clever and thrives when she’s being challenged. She’s into everything – except water!”
Eddie is now a happy and healthy three-year-old living in Hastings with Rhys Bowles and his girlfriend, Willow Ritchie. But the couple had a difficult first year with the youngster.
Willow said: “When Eddie first came to us he was only around five to seven-weeks-old; he should have been with his mum. We had a lot of health problems initially and then the first year we had behavioural difficulties, too.
“Eddie really struggled settling on his own and he hated sleeping alone, he was also very barky which was difficult to manage. We spoke to our vet and they felt it was because he’d missed out on that vital time with his mum as a tiny pup.
“Thankfully we were able to work through it and now he’s a really happy, healthy dog and all-round good boy!
“He goes to doggy day care during the week and has the best time; everyone there loves him. He’s really friendly and gets on with everyone.
“He’s a typical Labrador so his number one love in life is food, but he also loves to play games, especially chase. We’ll often play ‘tag’ with him and ‘hide and seek’ around the house!
“Eddie is really cuddly so he falls asleep on our laps on the sofa in the evening and sleeps in between us in bed, snoring his head off.”
The couple also stay in touch with the families who took on Eddie’s littermates and have a Whatsapp group where they share pictures and arrange meet-ups.
- Anyone buying a puppy should use the Puppy Contract to help them find a responsible breeder and a happy, healthy dog. Anyone with concerns about the puppies they’ve seen should walk away and contact the RSPCA or police.
- The RSPCA would encourage anyone thinking of getting a dog to do their research first and ensure they can commit to the responsibility of caring for that dog for their whole life.
- If they can adopt a rescue dog instead of buying a puppy, please visit www.rspca.org.uk/findapet to see all the dogs in our care looking for homes.
