The desperately sick French bulldog had golf-ball sized wounds across her stomach caused by problems after giving birth.

She looked like a living skeleton when she was found abandoned in park, with her ribs and spine clearly poking through tan fur.

To compound her tragedy, the mother dog did not even have a proper name.

Her microchip – which did not have up to date details – simply describes her as Puppy 1.

When the 18 month old bulldog was recently found abandoned on Mitcham Common, South London, her injuries looked so appalling that it was feared she had been attacked, but now her tragic story together has been gradually pieced together.

Vets at Blue Cross pet charity suspect she had been used for breeding and had only recently given birth to puppies before developing severe and potentially deadly mastitis, a bacterial infection of the mammary glands that can strike dogs nursing new litters.

Vanessa Scott, vet nurse at Merton Blue Cross, said: “The dog was in a terrible state when she arrived in our care.

“She was emaciated and had a number of large holes in her abdominal wall caused by the mastitis.

“It’s appalling to think an owner could dump their pet in such a dreadful state. She could have been out there on the common for a few days judging by how ravenous she was but we just don’t know. She’s lucky that she was found and brought into us.”

Caring veterinary staff are calling her Dorothy and her case has been handed to the RSPCA to be investigated.

Sadly, Dorothy appears to have become a victim of the heavy demand for fashionable French bulldogs, fuelled by celebrity ownership and popular culture, and which has spawned a surge in overbreeding by puppy farms and unscrupulous dealers.

Becky Thwaites, head of public affairs at Blue Cross, said: “The huge demand for puppies and fashion breeds such as French bulldogs has led to an increase in unscrupulous breeders who care more about making a quick a buck than about the welfare of the pets they are selling, or their parents.

“Blue Cross is calling for a reform of animal welfare legislation to stop the suffering of so many pets bred only for profit.

“We need an effective – and properly enforced – system of licensing for anyone who breeds or sells pets, including those importing pets from outside the UK for sale online.

“We also want to a compulsory registration database for all breeders and sellers, to give potential pet owners peace of mind that they are buying a healthy puppy and root out unscrupulous breeders.”

Blue Cross estimates it will cost an estimated £2,500 to nurse Dorothy back to full health and the charity has set up a Just Giving page to raise funds.

Any donations over and above the cost of her treatment will go towards helping other sick, injured and abandoned pets helped by the charity at its hospitals and rehoming centres across the country.

Jess Morgan, vet at Blue Cross Victoria, where Dorothy is now being treated, said: “It looks like she has been used for breeding and has developed mastitis after her latest litter which we believe she would have given birth to in the past week or two.

“She is underweight and has been very hungry in our care.

“This could be down to her not being fed correctly or her being too sick to feed herself previously.

“Despite all she has been through, she is such a sweet girl and is responding well to treatment.

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