Puppy, nearly dead, rescued in Autauga Co. - WAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, AL

Imagine finding an animal severely cut and crying for help. That's exactly what happened to one Autauga County man Tuesday morning. It was a disturbing sight, but the story does have a happy ending.

You can still hear the cries of pain and emotional turmoil from the severely injured puppy.

"Pup's leg was basically being held on by a blood vessel and some skin. The leg had been completely severed. It was just dangling there," Autauga resident Patrick Aman said.

And it was that sound that lead Aman to the six-week-old German Shepard mix.

"She had maggots in the wounds and it was probably three days old; fleas, ticks," Aman explained. The pup was covered with over a thousand fleas and ticks and needed a blood transfusion.

He named her "Gracie" because he says it was only be the grace of God that he was walking near a wooded area in Billingsley where he heard her suffering. 

"She was nearly on the verge of death when she came in. She was in shock, she was severely anemic, she was dehydrated," Aman said.

Dr. Tessa Downey with the Animal Medical Clinic of Prattville says Gracie's leg will have to be amputated. "This was definitely the worst case I've ever seen," Dr. Downey admitted.

The doctor says the puppy's wounds were so infected she wouldn't have made it another day.

"It was something that somebody did or something that somebody allowed to happen, either a neglect situation or human inflicted," the doctor believes. "[It's an] inhumane act to just dump an animal alongside a road and think it's going to fend for itself."   

Medical bills will run Aman at least $1,000, but he says it's well worth it because no animal or even human deserves to be in this condition. "She deserves to live. She's suffered enough,"

It's turning a sign of animal cruelty into hope for a better life. "We'll take her home, and she will be our three-legged dog," her new owner beamed.

Little Gracie is set for a Thursday surgery and will be released from the clinic Friday. That's when she'll have a new chance at a better life.

If you see or suspect any animal abuse, you are urged to contact your local animal control.

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