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Puppy abandoned in Maple Ridge dies

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Peanut

A day-old puppy abandoned on Friday inside a shoe box at a bus stop in Maple Ridge has died.

Christened Peanut, the tiny black and white mixed-breed pup passed away early Tuesday, despite attempts to save her.

She was found wrapped in a small beige fleece blanket inside a PUMA shoe box for a pair of women’s size 7.5 trainers. 

The box was placed in a garbage bag underneath a bus stop bench on 207 Avenue.

The SPCA was alerted after someone heard whimpering and scratching from inside the garbage bag.

SPCA officers rushed Peanut to the Dewdney Animal Hospital, where Dr. Adrian Walton treated the puppy for hypothermia and seizures. 

“We started feeding her every two hours, but it had been so long since she had eaten, her blood sugar level had dropped to the point of causing the seizures,” said Walton. 

The veterinarian believes there may be more puppies from the same litter and is worried about the fate of those puppies and the mother.

After being treated by Walton, Peanut was taken the B.C. SPCA’s Maple Ridge branch, where manager Mark Vosper fostered her, feeding her every four hours.

"We tried everything we could for this puppy," said Walton.

Peanut gained weight with the repeated feedings, but died of septic shock after pus from an infection caused by a poorly cut umbilical chord got into her blood stream.

Walton did a necropsy on the puppy on Tuesday and found a pocket of pus behind the umbilical chord.

Peanut will be buried in his backyard.

The SPCA has launched a cruelty investigation and is seeking the public’s assistance in providing any information that may help identify Peanut's owner or the whereabouts of any other puppies.

• Anyone with information on Peanut's owner is asked to call the Maple Ridge SPCA at 604-463-9511.