Tear jerking scenes show how lucky Glamour the Newfoundland-cross was to survive when she was shot, beaten, gouged and left for dead.
X-rays taken before she underwent emergency surgery graphically reveal the horrendous torture she suffered.
Bullet fragments can be seen in her leg and neck and another leg was so badly shattered that bits of bone burst through the skin, meaning amputation. Her ribs and jaw were also broken.
Glamour will have to lose her eye because it was so badly gouged.
Maggots crawled in her open wounds and she is also stricken with heart worm, a mosquito-borne disease that can cause serious health problems.
Yet despite the year old dog’s pain and suffering she has won the hearts of animal rescuers and vets by still showing her faith in humans.
A reward has been put up to track down her abuser in a case described as the worst witnessed by Stray Rescue of St Louis in 20 years.
Its founder Randy Grim has made a touching video about Glamour’s rescue and intensive veterinary care after an anonymous caller alerted him to the dog collapsed in a vacant lot and struggling to get water on the eastern side of the Missouri city.
Miraculously, Glamour survived emergency surgery and there are hopes s he will one day be rehomed. It will be a long journey.
For Mr Grim, no effort has been spared saving Glamour’s life and, he says, neither should there be in catching her callous attacker.
He said: “She has been shot in the neck, shot in the limbs and and they broke her legs, all of them.
“It’s so heartbreaking because she is so kind and so loving. When she sees me she wags her tail. She is a life worth saving.
“To me, these types of crime are important because whoever did this to her is still out there.”
Cuddling the dog and plant a kiss on her brow, Mr Grim goes on to explain: “She was beaten so badly that it actually crushed bones, but she’s the sweetest dog God ever put on this planet and she has such a will to live.
“She wags her tail for us and we love her…”
For vet Rebecca Nichols the amount of violence inflicted on Glamour could only have been carried out with ruthless intent.
Dr Nichols said: “Somebody really hurt this dog and they did it on purpose. She was pretty beat up.
“She’s just a special dog. Everybody who meets her loves her. She was in incredible pain but she’s been wagging her tail.
“We all really, really, love her, and we give her every chance. She deserves a chance at a good home.”
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