A litter of eight-week-old puppies have been discovered in a ditch on the same road as the Taupō pound and amnesty cage.
The three female and two male puppies, believed to be a Staffordshire terrier cross, were discovered yesterday morning by a man walking his dog in the area. Compliance team supervisor Ross McDonald said the puppies would have been in the ditch for a few days before they were found.
"They're pretty sick little dogs, but they'll survive," he said. "They're full of worms and are going to need a lot of care and attention to recover."
Mr McDonald said the person who discarded the puppies would have had to drive past both the SPCA and Taupō pound to get to the spot they were dumped.
He stressed cases like this were the reason the amnesty cage existed at the pound.
"We want people to know that no-one is going to get in trouble for putting animals in the amnesty cage – that's what it's there for," he said. "If you can't look after an unexpected litter of puppies, or an older dog for whatever reason, the amnesty cage is there for their surrender, no questions asked."
The dogs were currently being rehabilitated at Taupō pound. Once they had recovered they could be adopted out and rehomed.