A TINY puppy has battled back from the brink after being found dumped alongside two dead puppies in North Warnborough.

Poppy, a Chihuahua cross who was around eight weeks old when she was found at an address in North Warnborough, has managed to get back to full health after RSPCA inspectors saw her struggling to breathe.

The RSPCA, the UK’s leading animal welfare charity, hope Poppy’s plight and eventual recovery will raise awareness of the consequences of irresponsible puppy breeding, after she was discarded in a field alongside two dead puppies in a field in Odiham last month.

RSPCA inspector Nicola Denham hopes the story of the young pup, and that of a tiny-eyed pug, will encourage people to do their research to combat irresponsible puppy breeders.

She said: “When I arrived I was greeted by a lethargic tan and white puppy not much bigger than my hand, whose chest I could feel rattling and her right eye glued shut.”

Poppy wasn’t expected to live past 24 hours.

She was signed over to the charity, treated by a vet and put on antibiotics, but inspectors feared for the worst.

However, with help from a foster carer from an RSPCA branch, who has now adopted the pup, Poppy proved a fighter and survived.

“She’s thriving and has turned from a lethargic puppy to one that is a bit cheeky and doing all the things a puppy should do,” Nicola said.

It’s the second time in recent months the RSPCA has nursed a puppy back to full health after a one-eyed pug was found malnourished.

The pug’s eye was left to ulcerate to the extent that it burst and had to have her eye removed, but again was able to regain full health.

Nicola continued: “I am seeing more and more puppies being dumped if they fall ill. The people who are breeding these puppies for profit just see pound signs – not living sentient beings that feel pain like we do.

“Unfortunately, if a vet’s bill will outweigh what someone will pay for the puppy then irresponsible breeders will not treat it.”

She added: “I urge anyone concerned about conditions dogs are being bred in to contact us. It is illegal to let an animal suffer unnecessarily and withhold veterinary treatment. Anyone with information on puppies such as Poppy being dumped to die should get in touch.”

The charity has already started to see the effects of soaring demand for fashionable breeds with many French bulldogs and pugs coming into its care.

RSPCA chief inspector Ian Briggs, who leads the charity’s special investigations into the puppy trade, said: “This is the price of poor puppy breeding – consumers faced with sick and dying puppies who need expensive veterinary treatment or lifelong support.”

Visit rspca.org.uk/scrap thepuppytrade.