Puppies weighing just 120 grams each abandoned in box

The puppies – who were originally named after Rugrats characters – are now six months old and were picked up near Wrexham on September 3 last year.

The finder took them to Rhyd Broughton Vets in New Broughton where they were cared for by two nurses before three of them were transferred to the RSPCA’s Bryn-y-Maen Animal Centre in Colwyn Bay a week later.

Two of the pups were reared by staff at the vets, who also went onto adopt them.

The one-week old terrier/Jack Russell-type puppies weighed just 120 grams each when they were found, their eyes were still closed and flies were found with them and had started to lay eggs.

Chris Butler, animal centre supervisor, said it was touch and go for the tiny pups when they first arrived.

He explained: “We all had sleepless nights, hoping they would pull through.

“Our deputy manager put in the hard graft at the beginning as she was feeding them every couple of hours – day and night – for the first couple of weeks.

“Then when these feeds became more spaced out, three more of our staff shared the hand rearing.

“The sharing of this was extremely beneficial for the puppies' socialisation, providing them with new experiences and smells in different environments during their informative weeks of life in order to help them have the best chance of becoming well rounded adults in the future.

“As the weeks went by every day was a bonus for these vulnerable pups.

"But each day brought more hope and everyone involved were so relieved all the hard work had paid off when the pups were old enough and fit enough to be rehomed.”

All five pups are now in their forever homes.

The RSPCA is often called to help unplanned and unwanted litters of puppies and kittens who have been abandoned.

“Abandoning any animal can't be an easy decision for anyone but if someone requires help in this situation then we urge them to reach out to the RSPCA or other animal charities," Chris said.