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While others will be tucking into their turkey dinner this Christmas, staff at Dogs Trust Ballymena will be spending the day caring for the season's first canine casualty - eight-week-old Gretal.

The little crossbreed was rescued after being callously dumped just days before Christmas.

Gretal was found by a member of the public in Craigavon, Co Armagh, where she had been left to fend for herself.

Belfast Live reports she was found early in the morning - suggesting she was perhaps abandoned the night before - in freezing temperatures.

After being taken to Craigavon Civic Centre, the local dog warden brought her to Armagh Dog Pound where she spent five days waiting to be claimed.

When nobody came forward, she was taken to Dogs Trust Ballymena where has since being treated to lots of much needed tender loving care.

Sarah Hickie, who cared for Gretal at Armagh Dog Pound, said: “We believe that Gretal had been purchased as a family pet but for some reason was found wandering the streets on her own.

"She remained in our care for five days; however no one came forward to claim her.”

Despite her ordeal, Gretal is now in the care of Dogs Trust Ballymena until she is ready to find a loving new home in the New Year.

Dogs Trust Ballymena Rehoming Centre manager, Oonagh Phillips, said: “It’s very possible that Gretal may have been bought as a Christmas present and dumped when her owners realised the work involved in looking after a puppy.

"Our centre looks after thousands of abandoned and unwanted dogs every year but it still shocks us to think that someone could so callously abandon a puppy.

"This year is the 38th anniversary of Dogs Trust’s iconic slogan ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ and sadly it’s as true today as when it was first coined.

"Every year we see a number of dogs handed into our rehoming centres in the days and weeks following Christmas when the appeal of a cute puppy has worn off.

"It seems that people are still giving puppies as Christmas presents without considering the long term ramifications. Dogs can provide a world of happiness and enjoyment, and we urge anyone considering a new addition to the family to think it through properly and care for the dogs for life, its’ entire life.”

Dogs Trust CEO, Adrian Burder added: “Time and again, people continue to buy puppies as a Christmas presents without taking into consideration the demands of caring for a tiny puppy and the lifelong commitment that dog ownership brings.

"Sadly, there are many understandable reasons why people have to give up their dogs and we appreciate that circumstances can change beyond their control, however we cannot fathom that dogs should be callously abandoned simply because people haven’t done their research before buying.”

Over the last 12 months, Dogs Trust has cared for over 16,000 dogs and many have been handed in to the charity’s network of 20 rehoming centres in the UK and one in Dublin for a wealth of reasons from the ludicrous to the downright strange.

Some of the strangest handover reasons:

We realised we’re cat people

She grew too big to fit on my lap

Only 3 out of the 4 of us loved him

I had to spend an hour a day hoovering

She wasn’t cuddly enough

He’s too fluffy

We got a puppy which we preferred (so handed the 8-year-old dog in)

He frightened the goldfish

She kept barking in the garden

He ate my apples and pooed on the carpet

To find out more about the work of Dogs Trust or how you can get involved please visit www.dogstrust.org.uk or call 0300 303 0292.