Beattie beside the box in which she was dumped and the note from the confused owner who thought she was a boy and named her FredThis blind baby guinea pig escaped from the jaws of death - literally - after it was plucked to safety from the compacter of a dustbin lorry.
The tiny animal had been callously dumped in a cardboard box and placed on top of a wheelie bin which was on the pavement waiting to be tipped into the lorry's crusher.
The box had previously contained a BT phone and answer machine and, along with the four-month old guinea pig, there was a note which read 'His name is Fred. Please take care of it thank you :).'
But the black, white and ginger animal is actually a female and has been renamed Beattie by staff at animal charity the RSPCA.
Animal welfare officer Sue Brooks took little Beattie to a nearby vet in Southampton for an examination.
'This poor creature had a very lucky escape,' she said. 'Had someone not thought to look in the box before putting it inside a bin she could easily have been thrown in the back of a rubbish lorry and been crushed in its metal jaws.
'There is never an excuse for abandoning an animal in this way and I would urge anyone with information about this animal to contact the RSPCA so we can ensure there are no other animals in the home which are not being properly cared for.'
Vets discovered Beattie to have a shrunken right eye and little vision in her left eye.
Her eye problems were probably birth defects possibly as a result of her being undernourished while still in the womb, suggesting her mother may not have been adequately fed when she was pregnant.
RSPCA investigators hope that the BT phone box in the picture may provide some clues as to who is responsible for dumping Beattie, and attempts are being made to trace the serial number on the box.
Despite her ordeal the RSPCA said Beattie was eating well and does not seem to mind being handled.
She is currently being cared for at the RSPCA Ashley Heath animal centre near Ringwood, Hampshire, but is not yet ready for rehoming.
source: dailymail
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