No evidence viral appeal for information about ‘found’ cocker spaniel is genuine

Hoax posts claiming that a cocker spaniel has been found by the side of the road have been shared thousands of times in community Facebook groups across the UK. 

We have seen versions of the posts in groups based in Brixham (Devon), Shrewsbury (Shropshire), Lancaster (Lancashire), Kettering (Northamptonshire), Stockport (Greater Manchester), Eastbourne (East Sussex), Warrington (Cheshire) and Harrogate (North Yorkshire). 

Together, these posts have been shared more than 16,000 times. 

The posts all use near-identical wording, which says: “Hello, it’s been 2 weeks and I haven’t found the owner of this sweet cocker spaniel we picked up on the road in [location]

“She’s really depressed and she’s not eating. We took her to the vet she’s not chipped. Please bump…