Two puppies found dumped in a cardboard box at Stinkpot Alley

The two mixed-breed brothers had burn marks on their paws, are thought to be eight to 10 weeks old and previously owned.

A man, who wished to remain anonymous, found the puppies at around 9am Tuesday, January 31, while walking his dog and took them to Pet Practice Vets in Churchfields.

One of the puppies was severely hypothermic, emaciated, very dehydrated, and covered in fleas and had to be hospitalised while the other was taken to Bath Cats & Dogs Home by a Wiltshire Council dog warden.

The dogs are not microchipped so vets were unable to report their owners to the RSPCA.

This comes just over one month after three spaniel puppies were found abandoned in a cardboard box between Royal Wotton Bassett and South Cerney in Wiltshire.

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The sicker puppy was given parasite treatment, placed on an intravenous drip and slowly warmed and re-fed for 24 hours.

Vets put a collar on him to stop him from further damaging his very sore feet.

The puppy is slowly recovering. (Image: Pet Practice Veterinary Surgery)

Tom Rhind-Tutt is a vet working at Pet Practice who said he's "getting sick" of seeing puppies dumped. 

He said: "A gentleman found two puppies on death's door. I've heard similar stories from colleagues across the county recently.

"Puppy farm-bred dogs are being dumped when they run out of financial use. It's a national problem."

Tom added that the burn injuries on the puppies' feet could have come from being thrown out of a car, walking on the freezing cold ground or walking over hot ash.

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Tom said he's doing "slightly better than yesterday" but needs further treatment before potentially re-joining his brother at the shelter.

Pet Practice Vets kept the dog overnight but Tom said this is an exception to the normal rule and the practice still closes at 6.30pm.

The RSPCA reported that it has seen a 73 per cent increase in puppies being abandoned in a year

There were 711 puppies and breeding bitches abandoned in 2022, up from 411 in 2021.

"The puppy boom of lockdown has also been a factor with the rise of puppy farms and dodgy breeders in it for profit. I'm so annoyed this has happened especially in our backyard in Salisbury," added Tom.