D Friday, September 18, 2009 METRO Abandoned: The puppies need to be bottle-fed Puppies left for dead in city parkby joAnne Ahern THE owner of a dog who gave birth to puppies left abandoned in a bag in a Dublin park was yesterday urged to take the mother to the vet. The cross-breed pups, believed to be only about two- and-a-half weeks old, were found in Dodder Park, Rath- farnham, on Wednesday. They are so young they have to be bottle-fed every three hours at the rescue centre of the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA). The charitys communications manager, Orla Aungier believes the four puppies, given the names Daisy, Maisie, Baby and Duke, who were very weak when they were found, were left for dead. She said: These poor pups were much too young to be separated from their mother. They are at a vulnerable stage in terms of growth and would be highly dependent on their mother for feeding and proper nourishment. She added that they still do not know if the pups will survive their ordeal and that they are also concerned about the mother. She said the dog would be distressed about her pups being taken away from her. It is very vitally important that she is taken to a vet for examination as she is at serious risk of developing mastitis due to the milk that is not being used, Ms Aungier said. She added that the Rathfarnham-based rescue centre is over-run with animals at the moment and appealed to the public to consider adopting a pet from the DSPCA before buying one from another source. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html