GARDAÍ IN Kildare are being praised by animal lovers for their rescue of seven adorable puppies.
The tiny pups were discovered by Gardaí during a routine traffic traffic stop in Athy yesterday, and officers were immediately suspicious due to the high number of dognappings taking place across Ireland.
The driver was quizzed about the puppies and the whereabouts of their mother, but it appears the driver of the vehicle could not offer adequate identification, dog licenses or answers-- and the pups were seized.
(Garda Kildare Division / Facebook)According to the Kildare Garda Division, the dogs were seized by the Roads Policing Unit and a full investigation was opened into the incident.
The seven beautiful sandy-coloured dogs have been taken into the care of Kildare & West Wicklow SPCA (KWWSPCA) while Gardaí continue their investigation.
It is the second time in less than one month that Gardaí in Kildare seized a litter of puppies after finding them in suspicious circumstances: in August, seven cocker-spaniel puppies were discovered after officers noticed two vehicles acting strangely in the car park of a service station.
The puppies, who were without their mother and are not microchipped, were found in the back of one of the cars, and were taken into the care of the ISPCA while Gardaí conducted an investigation.
The summer of 2020 brought with it an endemic of dognappings across Ireland, with dozens of high-profile campaigns for stolen family pets making the rounds on social media.
Tragically, the stolen dogs are often never reunited with their owners, but occasionally the stories have a happier ending-- a pensioner reunited with his 'best friend', two pups returned when the thieves got cold feet and sibling cocker spaniels reunited after a massive and wide-ranging social media campaign.
Last week, Gardaí arrested a man in connection with 10 dogs believed to have been stolen from families across Ireland, meaning a crackdown on offences relating to animals is well under way.
