Puppies find home after E&S appeal

A lively litter of eight-week old lurcher puppies dumped on wasteland was rehomed in just three hours after a huge response to an appeal in the Express & Star.

Newcombe and East veterinary surgery in Brownhills was inundated with about 300 calls inquiring about the six puppies from the moment the paper hit the streets. Veterinary nurse Donna Besant said:

"The phone was absolutely manic, we were picking up one phone and the other phones were ringing.

"They started at about midday and didn't stop until about 7.30pm.

"We are sad to see the puppies go, but glad they have all gone to good homes with owners who are knowledgeable about dogs."

Staff at the Barracks Lane surgery quizzed callers about the other pets they own and their commitment to keeping the dog before settling on six keen owners, the last of whom collected their puppy yesterday.

The dogs, who staff named Ife, Coria, Caoimhe, Josie, Ben and Nathan, after some of this year's Big Brother contestants, were abandoned on wasteland near Dudley. They were found and taken to the Brownhills vets as they were "skinny and riddled with worms".

After eight days of attention from veterinary nurses and a solid diet, including scrambled eggs, the pups were back in good health and in need of good homes. "We do often have animals coming in that we need to rehome," said Donna.

Fellow nurse at the practice, Kelly Mason, said: "I think it helped being on the front page."