Puppy dumped in handbag had paws tied together with hairband

A tiny puppy called Radley was found dumped in a handbag with a hairband tying his paws together and a tin of dog food.

The red bag had been tied to the door of a charity shop and the eight-week old puppy was placed inside with the food and a note saying ‘Found this puppy.’

A passer-by who spotted the abandoned border terrier cross at the entrance to the charity shop handed it in to the RSPCA who examined Radley.

They found the band was so tight it had cut off the circulation to his paws.

The animal charity is now seeking the cruel person who used the elasticated hairband to tie Radley’s front paws together.

RSPCA Inspector Phil Norman said he was investigating how the little pup came to be dumped in the handbag and why he was tied up in such a way.

He said: ‘We received a call from a woman who had found a little puppy in a red handbag fastened to the door handle of a charity shop in The Broadway, Greenford, Middlesex.

‘The pup’s front paws were tied together with an elasticated hairband. There was also an unopened tin of dog food in the bag and a note stuck to the outside saying ‘Found this puppy’.

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‘Poor little Radley must have been very stressed and frightened being stuffed into that handbag and abandoned in the middle of the night.

‘The hairband would also have caused him some pain and restricted his movement, adding to his distress.

‘There’s absolutely no excuse for leaving a young, vulnerable puppy like this in such awful circumstances and Radley is lucky he wasn’t more seriously injured.’

Radley was taken to the RSPCA’s Putney Animal Hospital, in south-west London and Inspector Norman was gathering CCTV in order to trace whoever was responsible for abandoning the pup and appealed for anyone who saw anything to contact them.

London veterinary director Caroline Allen said: ‘As this little pup was found in a handbag we decided to name him Radley – and he’s now winning over the hearts of all of the staff here!

‘He’s doing really well and is such a cutie. He’s not available for rehoming yet and we’re still running tests and checks on him so he’ll be with us a little longer yet.’