A charity has issued a passionate plea to dog owners after 10 puppies were found dumped in the rubbish in Auckland last week.
Four of the puppies — Marty, Mabel, Maggie and Meg — have died while there are concerns for a fifth, Max.
The other five — Milo, Missy, Macey, Moana and Maui — are doing well.
Janine Hinton, co-founder of the Saving Hope Foundation, told 1News the puppies were found in a tied-up fabric shopping bag by a rubbish truck driver, doing her round in the Papakura and Hunua area last week.
The driver was starting to compact the load in the back of her truck when she heard a noise.
"She stopped, and when she investigated she realised it was puppies," Hinton said.
The dogs were rushed to an all-hours vet. The vet called Saving Hope, a "no kill" organisation.
"These puppies still had their umbilical cords attached to them," Hinton said. "They had only just been born.
"They were sitting in a puddle of filthy, stinky water, so they were lucky they didn't drown.
"I don't know how long they had been in the rubbish."
Hinton said the vets are doing everything they can, stressing the puppies "didn't deserve this" and were freezing when they found them.
"Who does that? Why not desex your damn dog?" she asked. "We are in a major crisis in New Zealand.
"We've got so many puppies being born. It's got to stop, every year it's getting worse."
Alongside desexing, Hinton called for education, adding the Foundation currently has over 200 dogs in its care.
"I believe the minute they take a breath, they deserve a chance," she said. "You don't have time to dwell, you have the sadness when you lose them and it affects everyone, not only our supporters but our whole team. It's really hard going.
"We've re-homed over 3200 since we've been going," she said. Saving Hope was founded six years ago.
"Without our supporters, we couldn't do it. We know how hard everyone is doing these days, but even a dollar helps," Hinton added, before repeating her plea: "If you've got puppies and you don't want them, just drop them at the vet.
"Don't dump them, just ask for help, you know? If you ask for help, at least we can desex the mum.
"How many more puppies is she going to have that are gonna be dumped?"
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