Vet practice gives abandoned puppies second chance
“The transformation has been remarkable and it just shows what can be done” – Lesley Barrow.
Three puppies that were abandoned by the side of the road have met up again for the first time since they found their forever homes with families connected to the veterinary practice that saved them.
The eight-week-old cockerpoo puppies were discovered by a lorry driver in bushes near a lay-by in Colchester, Essex, on 21 December 2023. They were taken to Moreton Hall Veterinary Centre in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, part of Stowe Veterinary Group.
On arrival, the veterinary team could see that all three were in a terrible state. The dogs were malnourished and had extensive mange. One dog had even lost most of its coat and its front legs were deformed.
Nicola Rigden, practice manager, said: “It was so sad to see how badly the puppies had been treated by whoever abandoned them. It was so different to the cases we normally see. We were determined to do all we could to make them better and give them a fresh start, and immediately took them in.”
The nursing and veterinary team diagnosed the type of mange and started the puppies on a programme of treatment and good nutrition.
Because the mange was possibly contagious, the puppies spent the Christmas holidays being looked after by the nursing team at Stowe Veterinary Centre, Stowe Veterinary Group’s Stowmarket site.
After they were given the all clear, the puppies were given a temporary foster home with Martin and Lesley Barrow, a a veterinary surgeon and dog groomer at the practice respectively, and their two other dogs.
Skin samples were retaken after three weeks and revealed that all three puppies were free of mites.
Martin and Lesley gave a permanent home to one of the dogs, named Ivy. The other two puppies were also adopted by people connected to the practice. One of the puppies, Lacy, now lives with Alex and Chloe, who is a receptionist at the practice, and Missy (short for Mistletoe) now lives with Andy and Ann, whose daughter is head nurse at Stowe Veterinary Centre.
Despite their tough start to life, all three dogs have become very well socialised. When they met up on 4 August for a play session in the agility paddock at Ipswich Veterinary Centre, also part of Stowe Veterinary Group, they got on very well. All three puppies are now thriving in their new families.
Ms Barrow said: “The transformation has been remarkable and it just shows what can be done. We’re so pleased for all three puppies to have found loving forever homes. They are a bundle of joy and have made us very happy too.”
Image © Stowe Veterinary Group
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
