A dog which suffered horrific facial injuries may have been involved in illegal fighting before being abandoned in a back garden, according to animal welfare officers.
An RSPCA investigation is under way to find the owner of the one-year-old Staffordshire terrier cross, and to establish how it suffered the injuries to its lower jaw.
Angela Hunter, branch manager of the RSPCA animal rehoming centre in York, said she believed the dog could have sustained the wounds a week before it was found and handed in last week.
She said: “The whole of the underside of his face has gone. We suspect illegal fighting.
“He’s had an operation and the vet will be able to do something. He’s really good-natured too and will make somebody a lovely pet once he’s recovered, but he’s going to be in the vets for the next week.”
She said: “Whoever has had him decided he was he was too badly injured to do anything with.”
The dog, which has been given the name Amos by staff at Landing Lane, will need about £1,000 worth of treatment to repair the wounds, involving using what skin is left to reshape Amos’s face.
Skin grafts will also be necessary. The RSPCA is now hoping kind-hearted members of the public will donate money to pay for the operation and the after-care, and have set up a page on the Just Giving website for people who want to help.
The centre is also asking for any information about the dog, or its owner, to help with the investigation.
If you know anything, phone the RSPCA in York on 01904 654949.
