An elderly man spotted the puppies while out walking his own dog in the fields behind the Stackyard pub in East Herrington.
The lurcher pups – two bitches and one dog – were shut up inside a cage with no shelter, food or water.
They are now being cared for at Cleadon Kennels for rescue dogs. Sarah Wilkinson, who runs the kennels, said the pups were lucky to have been spotted by the man, who then called the out-of-hours dog warden.
She said: “The man was out walking his dog and said the cage wasn’t there when he set off about half an hour earlier, but was in clear view in the open field when he returned from his walk.
“It is disgraceful that people can do this. It was really cold and raining – it’s not the sort of weather where you would leave puppies outside. If the man hadn’t spotted them, they could have been there for hours.”
The dogs, thought to be a greyhound and terrier cross, are recovering well from their ordeal.
She said: “They are not in bad condition – they are a little on the thin side, but other than that are well and very happy little pups, they are really cute.”
Sarah says she gets a lot of lurchers at the kennels because irresponsible owners breed them for hunting rabbits.
She said: “In this case, I think someone has bred them to sell and then couldn’t get rid of the these three. But there is no excuse to just dump them – they could have advertised them free to a good home or left them at a rescue centre.”
Sarah says the pups are between 10 and 12 weeks old and are enjoying being made a big fuss of by kennel staff.
Anyone who would like to view the puppies, which are looking for loving new homes, can visit the kennels in Cleadon Lane on Mondays, Wednesday, Thursdays and Saturdays between 2pm and 4pm. For more information, telephone 529 2369.