In another shocking case of animal cruelty, an injured and abused dog that was picked up from the streets by an animal sanctuary was found to have been shot in the head with a shotgun.

The dog, named Horace by the Association for Abandoned Animals (AAA) was saved from the streets on Wednesday. “It took us four hours to manage to catch him because of his terrible fear from humans,” the sanctuary wrote in a Facebook post.

“This is the condition he is in. His face caked in blood due to a burst eye, an ear that the vet has confirmed was cut by some kind of machinery or scissors because it was ridged and an injured tail bleeding all over.”

The dog’s wounds were cleaned and the animal was put on painkillers and antibiotics.

In an update today, AAA wrote; “Unfortunately the story for Horace is going to get only worse. Today he was taken to the vet for his operation and while the vet started to remove the burst eye, she found lead pellets in his skin and bones. An X-Ray confirmed that the dog was also shot and the lead pellets are all over his head. The vet tried to remove as much lead as possible but some are going to be impossible to remove even in any future surgeries.”

Horace was not microchipped and nothing is known about his former owners. 

“The extent of animal cruelty happening daily on this Island is simply disgusting,” the sanctuary said.

AAA thanked Happy Paws clinic for the medical care provided.

People can help Horace and other abandoned dogs by sending a donation by SMS on:

50617350 €2.33 
50618060 €4.66 
50618910 €6.99 
50619200 €11.66

In a recent interview, an AAA volunteer told The Malta Independent that animal abandonment was still a common occurrence.