A box of seven border collie cross puppies were dumped in Christchurch's Richmond Park on Valentine's Day.
The box was found by a man around 10pm.
He took the puppies home and looked after them for the night, then took them in to the SPCA the following day.
SPCA Canterbury are appealing for anyone who may know any information about how the puppies ended up in the park or who the owners might be.
An SPCA spokeswoman said unfortunately dumpings of litters happen quite often.
"Sadly this is something we see that happens a lot."
This was the first case so far this year.
SPCA appealed for information on it's Facebook page.
The spokeswoman said at this stage the puppies are still too young to be adopted out.
"At the moment we are just appealing for information, they are still very young. We are not currently calling for adoption but we are taking care of them."
"They are doing very well, they are growing and they are healthy and happy,"