Pedro Dinis was out for a casual walk with his dog when he came across a horrifying scene — someone had buried a French mastiff alive and left it alone to die.
In a post on Facebook, Dinis described what he saw:
“[She] was cruelly buried alive, only her head was visible and it was difficult to see given the amount of earth covering her…”
Dinis called emergency services for help, and then quickly began digging the abandoned animal out:
Even Dinis’s own dog seemed to have sensed the mastiff’s distress, and attempted to comfort the traumatized animal:
It was only after removing some of the debris that the impromptu rescuer discovered a sickening detail — the mastiff’s collar was tied to a bag of gravel that had been buried, eliminating any chance of escape for the dog, AFP reports.
While waiting for help to arrive, Dinis did his best to comfort the abused animal:
The Telegraph reports that French police located the dog’s 21-year-old owner shortly after the incident, who claimed innocence and said the animal had run away on its own.
Police, however, do not believe this to be the case, stating:
“The dog is more than 10 years old and suffers from arthritis. It’s difficult to imagine her running away.”
The owner has since been taken into custody, and could face a two-year prison sentence as well as a hefty fine.
The “shocked and dehydrated” dog was rushed to a veterinary office, where she is currently recovering.