A dog was abandoned in a cage alongside a “heartbreaking” note asking anyone: “Please feed and look after me.”
The young male spaniel named Rudy, who has a leg deformity, was found by a member of the public and rescued by the RSPCA.
Another dog, a black terrier, escaped from the cage and has gone missing.
The two dogs had been left by the side of a road in a broken cage in Oxfordshire on 4 May.
The animals were found alongside a note reading: “Please feed and look after me. My owner is struggling to look after me.”
RSPCA Inspector Stephanie Law from the animal welfare charity said: “We were contacted by a member of the public who had found two dogs in a cage beside a road located between Northmoor and Stanford Harcourt.
“Alongside this dog, who has been named Rudy by the team caring for him, was a second dog, a black terrier, who escaped out of the ramshackle cage when the member of the public who found them tried to pick it up.
Severed cat head ‘carefully’ planted in children’s playground in ‘horrifying’ incident
A snake in McDonald’s and a frog hidden in bunch of bananas among RSPCA’s ‘weird’ rescues of 2022
Woman wakes to find 3ft-long snake slithering in through her bedroom window in Essex
“Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to locate the second dog and have notified the dog warden in the hope the dog is brought in as a stray.
“If anyone knows where this dog is, or has any information on who abandoned these poor dogs, we’d encourage them to contact us.”
Ms Law added: “It is really upsetting that these dogs have been abandoned alongside this note.
“We know times are really tough right now. We’re doing everything we can to help keep pets in loving homes wherever possible.
“We’re pleading with people not to abandon animals and encourage anyone who is struggling to seek help.”
The charity urged pet owners to seek help before letting problems escalate.
It has opened a telephone helpline to support people and said practical help can be found on its recently-launched cost of living hub.
