By Leon Watson


If you think this dog has a sad look on it's face, you'll understand why when you hear what he's been through.

Animal charities believe Pappy the mixed Labrador was left as bait for other animals with a festering paw and a jar on his head so he couldn't fight back.

He was only saved when rescuers found him wandering the streets of Dallas, Texas, starving and covered with scars.

An animal rescue group in Texas thinks someone stuck a jar on Pappy's head to train other dogs to fight

Residents in the Five Mile Creek area of the city had seen the dog near walking around for at least a week before a small group managed to snare him on Monday.

'We've gotta get him to a vet!' Maeleska Fletes recalled telling another rescuer after loading Pappy into her land cruiser. 'I can smell the foot.'

On Wednesday, doctors at the Metro Paws clinic amputated part of the dog's paw. It could have been much worse.

'This was not a random act of cruelty,' said Nancy Pinkston, a vice president with Animal Allies of Texas told The Dallas Morning News.

'That's typically done to create a blood scent so the animal can be thrown into a fighting ring and used as a bait dog for training.'

The jar was cut cleanly and precisely to fit over the dog's head, presumably so he couldn't fight back.

The jar was cut cleanly and precisely to fit over the dog's head, presumably so he couldn't fight back

'Someone said today they wish this dog could tell us his story,' she said. 'In some ways I'm glad he can't. It's probably much worse than we can imagine.'

Fletes, a Dallas animal shelter commissioner, recalled tracking and catching Pappy with other dog lovers and local residents.

He was terrified, but so weak he could barely run or fight.

'We just waited until he ran out of juice,' she said.

His rescuers named him after the WW2 fighter ace Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington.

'He's so broken in spirit,' said Nancy. 'Looking at this dog's eyes, it looks like he's just waiting for someone to hit him.'

Rescuers are searching for a foster home.

'He's so broken in spirit,' Ms Pinkston told The Dallas Morning News. 'Looking at this dog's eyes, it looks like he's just waiting for someone to hit him.'


source:dailymail