When 58-year-old Paul Skinner set out on a bike ride with his friend, he expected nothing more than fresh air and a bit of exercise. But that day quickly turned into something unforgettable. As he pedaled along a quiet road in Lincolnshire, England, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was a small movement, just enough to break the pattern of the roadside, but it made him slam on his brakes immediately.
Curious and concerned, Paul got off his bike to get a closer look. At first, he thought it was a dead bird lying in the grass, but then it moved—just barely. As he approached, he realized it wasn’t a bird at all. It was a dog, a small cocker spaniel, slumped in a ditch and barely clinging to life. The dog looked exhausted, her coat dirty and matted, her eyes dull with grief. It was immediately clear to Paul that she had been abandoned. No leash, no tags, no owner in sight—just a broken animal left to fend for herself.
But there was something else that stopped Paul in his tracks. The dog had a plastic bag in her mouth. Paul instinctively knew this wasn’t just litter or trash she had found to chew on. He leaned in to take a look, and what he saw inside that bag chilled him to his core. It wasn’t food, and it wasn’t garbage. It was four tiny, lifeless puppies.
“I was out cycling with my friend when we noticed something on the verge that looked like a dead bird,” Paul later shared with Metro, a British news outlet. “As we passed, it moved, so we turned back. The dog was sitting there, licking the contents of a fish and chips bag.”
Paul was stunned. The dog—now believed to be the mother of the pups—had been sitting beside the bag, still clinging to the only pieces of her lost litter, as if she couldn’t accept what had happened. It was a scene of pure heartbreak. “She had tears in her eyes,” Paul said, still shaken. “It was absolutely heartbreaking. I could not believe anybody could be so devoid of humanity to do something like this.”
Wasting no time, Paul reached out to local animal welfare groups and an animal rescue shelter. Volunteers from the Fen Bank Greyhound Sanctuary responded quickly and rushed to the scene to assess the situation. Sadly, it was already too late for the puppies. A local vet determined that the pups had likely been born that very day. While it wasn’t certain, the assumption was that they were alive when they were placed in the bag—dumped in the ditch alongside their mother and left to die in the cold.
The incident was as cruel as it was incomprehensible. “We don’t know whether the puppies were stillborn or whether they died because of the cold,” local police said. “But we would like to thank the cyclist who found the dog and raised the alarm, and Fen Bank Greyhound Sanctuary who got her to the vet so quickly.”
Thankfully, the mother dog had a microchip, but it only traced back to the original breeder, not a current owner. That made finding the person responsible more difficult, but it didn’t stop the rescue community from rallying around the heartbroken dog. She was taken in by the sanctuary and given the name Carly. While her beginning with them was marked by tragedy, her future now looked much brighter.
Carly was treated with love and care, finally getting the attention and compassion she deserved. And though her pups could not be saved, her story began to spread far and wide, touching the hearts of animal lovers everywhere. Carly became a symbol—not just of sorrow and loss—but of a mother’s love and undying devotion. Even when her puppies were gone, she refused to leave them. Her instinct to protect and care never faded, even when all hope was lost.
The image of Carly sitting beside that bag of pups, mourning and still holding on, is one that’s hard to forget. It reminds us of the emotional depth that animals are capable of, and of the pain they can feel when betrayed or abandoned. In Carly’s case, her sorrow was palpable, but so too was her strength. Her bond to her puppies didn’t end with their final breath. That kind of love, that kind of loyalty, deserves recognition and respect.
The story of Carly moved thousands. Social media lit up with messages of support and outrage. People shared her photo, sent donations to the rescue group, and expressed hope that Carly would find a loving home where she could begin to heal. Many called for harsher penalties for those who mistreat or abandon animals, using Carly’s tragedy as a wake-up call to do more for voiceless creatures who rely on us for kindness and care.
Carly’s rescuers say she is doing much better now. With regular meals, warm shelter, and gentle human interaction, she is slowly regaining her strength. More importantly, she is learning that not all people are cruel. Her days of abandonment are behind her, and her life ahead promises love, care, and the dignity she was once denied.
Carly may not have been able to save her puppies, but she never stopped loving them. Her devotion, even in the darkest moment, stands as a powerful reminder of how deeply animals can feel. Her story is not just one of grief but also of hope—hope that she will be adopted by a kind family, and perhaps even one day raise puppies again, this time in a world where she’s safe.
Let Carly’s story inspire us to treat animals with the compassion they deserve. She lost everything, yet still held on. And now, thanks to a kind-hearted cyclist and dedicated rescuers, Carly has a second chance. If you believe every animal deserves that, then let her story live on—not just in words, but in the way we choose to care.
