Dog tortured & used as target practice recovers after surgery

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Tortured, neglected and abused, but now there is a chance at a new life. A dog, who was rescued from an abandoned property in southeast Houston, is now recovering from surgery and still has a long way to go.

No one knows where he came from, but one look at the sickening photos tells a tale of a dog who underwent months of physical abuse at the hands of people. Gus is lucky to be in great care, but his recovery and the mounting medical bills is a different story.

Laura Forma was on her way to work on Wednesday morning when she saw a dog, with obvious deformities, walking in the busy traffic.

"I pulled over from there and I tried to get him at that moment but wasn't coming to me," Forma tells FOX 26 News. When Forma couldn't catch him, she took to social media with photos to try to find the dog she named Gus.

A group of friends came together and for hours searched the neighborhood. After speaking with people, they were led to an abandoned apartment complex near Martin Luther King Boulevard and found him hiding in the dark. Shoestrings were wrapped around his neck so tight that it ripped through his flesh, but it gets worse.

Gus was also used as target practice. His body was riddled with pellets.

"I couldn't imagine, you know, an animal being in that condition and being alive," said Tom Heller, one of the men who helped find Gus.

"His head was so swollen. It's not something you ever come across, or you're ever prepared for." said Robert Acuna, who also helped grab Gus.

The dog received medical attention to remove the shoelace and pellets from his body. He was transferred to Texas A&M to undergo more surgery to fix the scar tissue around his neck.

Houston K-911 has been raising thousands of dollars for Gus's care, and still need more money to come in. He is recovering from surgery, but will have to go under the knife again once he is better.

Unfortunately, there isn't much information about the person or people who abused Gus, but if you know something please contact police. Gus will have to undergo more surgery to repair the thick scar tissue around his neck.