The puppy was found by an animal volunteer who saw it crawling at the side of a road using its forearms on July 17. The dog's hind legs had nearly been torn off. Photo / Xin Zhi Lv Veterinary Clinic.
The puppy was found by an animal volunteer who saw it crawling at the side of a road using its forearms on July 17. The dog's hind legs had nearly been torn off. Photo / Xin Zhi Lv Veterinary Clinic.
A puppy has been saved in China after having both of its hind legs ripped off.
The dog, less than a month old, was found abandoned by the side of a road in Chengdu earlier this month, according to Qiming Small Animal Protection Group.
The animal group took the tiny canine to a vet, who performed leg amputation surgery on it.
The vet said the dog had been 'extremely strong' and was recovering well after the operation.
Tong Tong, a spokesman from Qiming Small Animal Protection Group, told MailOnline that the dog, a boy, was found by one of their volunteers on July 17 on Shengtai Avenue in Chengdu's Wenjiang District.
The spokesman said when the dog was found, both of its lower hind legs were nearly torn off from its body, and it was crawling at the side of the road using its forearms.
"We don't know how the dog got injured or who attacked it, but it seemed like someone had try to rip off its legs deliberately using their hands," said Tong Tong.
The spokesman added: "We are horrified by the incident and we condemn the person who has given the small puppy such shocking injuries."
Tong Tong added: "Judging from our experience, people usually hurt animals in a cruel way when they are under extreme stress or anger and want to release their emotions."
Qiming Small Animal Protection Group suspected the dog was a puppy of a stray dog.
Workers gave it basic treatment before taking it to the Chengdu Xin Zhi Lv Veterinary Clinic.
Li Xiaokun, a vet from the clinic, told MailOnline that he and his colleagues decided to give the puppy amputation surgery because 'it was not possible to have them re-attached to its body'.
Dr Li explained: "The dog's hind legs were dead from the ankle down and worms had started to grow on them."
He added: "The operation was risky because the puppy was so young. However, it was extremely strong during the operation.
"Its condition has stabilised now. We're giving it 24-hour care and it's recovering well."
Vets at the Chengdu Xin Zhi Lv Veterinary Clinic treated the puppy before performing amputation surgery on it. The operation went smoothly. Photo / Zin Zhi Lv Veterinary Clinic
Dr Li said some of the puppy's skin was missing around the ankle and the clinic planned to give it a tissue expansion operation in about a month to ensure that its operative wounds would be fully covered.
After the puppy recovers, the clinic would make it a wheelchair to help it walk.
Qiming Small Animal Protection Group has raised funds for the puppy's operation through an online donation page.
The puppy has been named Fu Rui, meaning 'free' in English. The name was selected after receiving the most votes from the people who donated money to the dog on WeChat, a Chinese social media platform.
Qiming Small Animal Protection Group hopes that the puppy could grow up healthily and safely.
"We hope its mind would be free and not restricted by the fact that it does not have hind legs," said the animal group, who also urged the Chinese authority to set up animal protection law in order to avoid incidents as such.
Tong Tong, the spokesman, said: "At the moment, there is no law to protect animals" welfare in China. There is a draft under consideration, but no official legal policies have been passed.
"However, considering the scale of the underground animal meat trading industry, I think it would be challenging for the authority to approve related law anytime soon."
