'Terrified' dog found in shrubs with cigarette burns

An animal charity is trying to raise £10,000 for surgery after rescuing a puppy found in shrubbery.

The Harlow Essex Animal Rescue Team (HEART) said a dog walker found the Caucasian shepherd soaking wet in Thaxted on 8 February.

The puppy had a deformed or broken leg and the charity suspected he had been abused or neglected.

Volunteer Felicity Sutton is looking after the puppy, which has been named Bear, and described him as a "bit of a BFG".

The 34-year-old, who lives in Farnham near Stansted Mountfitchet, said it looked like Bear had cigarette burns on his face, was very skinny, smelled "terribly" and had "an oil texture to his coat".

"He was terrified and was kind of making squeaky noises," she said.

"[But] he became very trusting of us quite quickly".

HEART has raised almost £3,000 so far and Ms Sutton said vets, trainers and people providing hydrotherapy had offered help.

She estimated the puppy was about six months old and would double in size with age.

"The weight of the dog is going to get too much on his legs," she explained.

"Ultimately it'll probably shorten his life expectancy."

Despite his trauma, Bear was in high spirits and welcomed visitors, she said.

"He wants to be as close and as on you as he possibly can," she added.

Ms Sutton has also rescued a one-eyed dog from Romania and a tortoise which now lives with her mother in Dunmow.

HEART's Abbie Parrish was first to the scene when Bear was spotted.

"It took about 30 minutes to coax him out of there safely... but once he realised I wasn't there to hurt him it was like a lightbulb moment," she explained.

Vets suspect Bear has a condition called carpus valgus, most likely caused by starvation.

"It still amazes me that people can be so cruel to something so defenceless," Ms Parrish added.

She said due to the remote area Bear was in, it was likely someone drove him out there to abandon him.

The charity said a specialist orthopaedic consultant said he would need surgery in both legs, at a cost of £5,000 per leg.

A tabletop sale has been arranged at Ugley Village Hall on 23 March to raise further funds for Bear's treatment.

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