Last Hope charity rescues 30 animals over festive period

The Last Hope Animal Charity (LHCA]) took in around 30 puppies, kittens, dogs and cats over the 10-day period around Christmas and the New Year but are in dire need of more volunteers to help get these innocent victims of animal cruelty re-homed. "New Year's saw the arrival of Springer puppies that were dumped in a bin shed in the apartments of Academy Square in Navan on 30th December, said Amy McLoughlin of LHAC. "A kind-hearted caretaker contacted us and he was very concerned for their welfare. A volunteer took them in and gave the frightened little pups the care they needed. "Last Hope is inundated with calls from the public that have found abandoned and injured animals that have been dumped by their owners. The volunteers are horrified on a daily basis with the calls they receive," she added. Ms McLoughlin outlined just a few cases of cruelty to the Meath Chronicle which included the case of a Yorkshire Terrier that broke ten ribs after someone threw it from a moving car in Blackcastle, Navan. Then there were the five Springer puppies and then another seven puppies that had been left in isolation in a shed for weeks and sustained heavy doses of worms. But the cruelest of all recent cases was the puppy, bought for Christmas whose seller forcibly opened its eyes to sell it in time and left it blind. The puppy later died after being rejected due to its blindness and fell ill. "In this day and age with the many other rescues and resources available in the Meath area there is no need for this kind of cruelty to animals when there are options for people that for whatever reason they can no longer keep their cat or dog. "Over the festive period Last Hope took over 15 dogs and many cats and kittens. This included 12 unwanted pups that all came into care with bad worm burdens and flea infestation's. "How anyone can treat animals like rubbish and dump them without any concern for their welfare we will never know. But we need people to be aware that there are other options with rescues such as ourselves and others in Meath and surrounding counties, therefore this sort of treatment is not necessary," she said.