Warning: This article discusses animal abuse.
The SPCA has launched an investigation into abuse of a puppy in south Auckland, after it was abandoned with horrific injuries that left it needing to be euthanised.
The puppy - a white and tan American bulldog less than a year old - was found at a park on Coxhead Rd in Manurewa on Tuesday.
The dog had suffered a broken back and four broken legs, among other injuries, and was taken away by Auckland Council Animal Management to be seen by a vet.
Tragically, the vet decided the best thing would be for the puppy to be put down.
Sharing photos of the dog on a Manurewa community Facebook page, local Bonnie Byers said it was found "in a really bad way".
"Looks as though he was used as a fighting dog or maybe even tortured," she wrote on a post that has since been widely shared on social media.
"By the looks of it he was chucked off the bridge above, maybe aiming straight for the pond below... Someone must know whose dog this is or who has done this to this poor baby."
One commenter, a friend of the dog's owner, said the puppy comes from a good home but had gone missing on Monday.
"The owner has been informed and we [are] all in denial [at the moment] that it could be him," he said.
Byers said she'd also spoken to the owner, passing on her information so they could take the dog home to be buried if they wanted.
Newshub has reached out to Byers and the owner's friend for more information.
In a statement to Newshub, the SPCA said it had been notified of the incident at 7:45pm on Tuesday evening by Auckland Council.
It confirmed the dog was taken to the vet and euthanised - but as the case is currently being investigated, wouldn't speculate on how it suffered its injuries, or whether dog fighting was a factor.
Police told Newshub they weren't "immediately aware" of the incident, and that it hadn't been reported to them.
