WARNING: DISTRESSING IMAGES. Dead puppy found in cardboard box outside flats in Milton Keynes

Shocked residents have found a dead puppy in a cardboard box outside their flats in MK.

The brindle-coloured puppy is believed to be around eight weeks old and a suspected bull breed, says the RSPCA, whose officials are now investigating and trying to track down the culprit.

Tragically they do not know whether he was shut in the box to die or whether he was already dead when he was dumped.

The pup’s body was found by residents on Friday (19 January) in a courtyard area in the centre of Granby Court, close to Peverel Drive, in Bletchley.

It has been left inside a brown cardboard box from toy car company ‘Absima’. Inside the box was a brown cushion, a black M&S knitted poncho and a dark grey Lonsdale t-shirt.

The RSPCA is now appealing for information and hopes to track down the person responsible and prosecute them.

Animal rescue officer (ARO) Emily Hoad said: “This was an incredibly upsetting find for local residents, and I have concerns about whether the puppy was alive or dead before he was dumped inside the box. But sadly, he had already passed away when his body was discovered.

She added: “He does not have a microchip so I’m appealing to local people with any information about him or who was responsible for dumping him to come forward. I am hopeful that somebody will have seen or heard something as the courtyard at Granby Court contains a number of homes, and I’d like to reassure people they can contact me in complete confidence.”

Anyone with information can contact Emily on the RSPCA’s inspector appeal line by calling 0300 123 8018.

The charity has reported that neglect and abandonment of animals is at a three-year high nationally, partly due to the cost of living crisis and people not being able to afford to keep their pets.

In 2023, the RSPCA received 72,050 reports about animal abandonment and neglect - higher than in 2022, 2021 and 2020.

Abandonment reports alone amounted to 20,999 last year - including 189 from the Buckinghamshire area.