Family of spaniel puppies found abandoned in shipping container rehomed in time for Christmas - Cambridgeshire Live

A family of seven spaniel puppies have all been rehomed in time for Christmas after they were found abandoned in a shipping container.

The puppies and their mum, a female cocker spaniel called Bamboo were found living in hay in a shipping container in Buckinghamshire in October this year.

The mum and puppies were found by Police and RSPCA inspectors and were taken to RSPCA Block Fen Animal Centre, in Cambridgeshire.

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RSPCA Inspector Stephanie Law said: "The dogs were living in completely inadequate conditions shut inside a storage container. The door was shut tight meaning it was pitch black inside. They were all underweight and I'm not sure the puppies would have survived much longer in that situation."

The puppies and their mum were found in a shipping container living in hay (Image: RSPCA)

Stephanie added: "No one claimed ownership of the dogs and they needed urgent treatment. The pups had diarrhoea and needed special diets and medication. Thankfully, they all pulled through and thrived in our care and have now all been snapped up by their new families. Their futures look much brighter!"

The seven puppies, named Billy, Blaze, Bob, Bertie, Bluebell, Bunty and Thomas were all found new homes in November and are said to all be settling in well.

Tiffany Saunders, kennel supervisor at Block Fen, said: "These dogs were very lucky to be found just in time and, thankfully, they all survived. With lots of TLC from our team they all made an amazing recovery.

One of the seven puppies who has been rehomed is called Socorro, which means rescue in Spanish or Coco for short (Image: RSPCA)

"While they didn't have a good start in life, things are now looking much brighter for these dogs and we're so glad they're all settling into their new homes in time for a magical Christmas.

"While these adorable dogs have found their happy ever afters, many animals will be waiting patiently to find their new family in an RSPCA rescue centre.

It will cost us £4,117 to run an animal centre for one day this winter so we're asking animal lovers to Join the Rescue this Christmas to make sure animals get the care they need this winter."

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Pup updates from their new homes

One of the puppies called Bluebell, now renamed Ruby went to live with Darren Sampson and his family in Bedfordshire.

Darren said: "Ruby is a bright and friendly girl, she loves her walks and enjoys meeting new people and dogs. She adores the children and they adore her.

"She loves to chase our other spaniel, Monty, around (both pictured). They're getting on well although sometimes she can annoy him!

"We'll all be spending Christmas at home together and we can't wait to see how Ruby reacts to all the fun and unwrapping the gifts!"

Bluebell has now been renamed Ruby and is settling in well with her new friend Monty (Image: RSPCA)

Bunty was also given a new name for her fresh start by her new family in Manchester, being named Socorro, which means rescue in Spanish, (or Coco for short).

She is said to be doing "amazingly well" and owner Caroline Ford said: "We're so glad we stuck with trying to rescue a puppy and the children are so excited for their first Christmas with Coco; they want to get her lots of new toys! We're completely smitten with her.

"It's been wintry in Manchester so she's already had her first experience with snow and enjoyed playing in it."

Bunty was one of the puppies found in the shipping container along with his siblings and mum (Image: RSPCA)

A third puppy now named Phoebe found a home with Matthew Ceigh's family who said: "Phoebe is settling in really well and growing in confidence each day. It's great to see her sweet character starting to shine through.

"We're so pleased to have her with us for Christmas this year; she's our little Christmas miracle!"

The mum of the pups, Bamboo was adopted by Patricia Varrall in Bedfordshire who renamed her Rosie. She is said to be settling in well and the family are working with her on her anxieties, which include barking and howling at night.

The mum, Bamboo was rehomed and is now called Rosie (Image: RSPCA)

Patricia said: "Rosie can be nervous and struggles with separation anxiety but things are slowly improving and we're hopeful we can ease her anxiety with time. Our previous cocker spaniel was also nervous but through patience and understanding, we managed to overcome these problems until we lost him to cancer at the age of 13.

"We love Rosie very much and, through love and kindness, we hope to cure her anxieties. We love to walk and enjoy the great outdoors so it's wonderful to have Rosie to enjoy this with us.

"We must thank all the staff at RSPCA Block Fen for all their help and guidance and their faith in us to allow adoption."

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