A mutilated German Shepherd had her leg hacked off, teeth removed and tail snapped off by a brutal attacker, who sexually abused her before leaving her for dead on the streets of Bucharest.
Horrified animal campaigners uncovered the catalogue of cruelty in the Romanian capital, where they also found three puppies had been brutally killed in the same street days earlier.
One had been cut in half, one had its skull caved in and the other had been disemboweled.
TV presenter Anneka Svenska, who joined a team from charity the International Aid for the Protection and Welfare of Animals (IAPWA), told MailOnline: ‘It was awful, it was very hard to see that.
Emotional: When the German Shepherd, named Spirit, was found, she’d had a leg hacked off, her teeth removed and her tail was gone
Dog is operated on after being abused by the Bucharest Butcher
Despite Spirit’s horrific injuries, she survived lifesaving surgery and is now set for a new life in Britain. She is pictured with Nicky Stevens and Amanda Leask from IAPWA, and Anneka Svenska
The group of animal lovers were horrified at the abuse Spirit had endured
‘To have that in front of you was harrowing, we were all in shock. I couldn’t believe someone could do that, especially the way she had been sexually violated.’
She said she had been reduced to tears by the abuse suffered by the German Shepherd, who has been named Spirit.
The cruel Bucharest Butcher sexually assaulted the eight-year-old stray with a knife, before leaving her alone in the snow.
Spirit was discovered the following morning by a woman who thought she was being targeted because she regularly feeds strays in her neighbourhood.
Seriously injured: Spirit needed lifesaving surgery after being brutally savaged by the Bucharest Butcher
Spirit had been savagely abused, but Anneka fears that the psychopath responsible will go unpunished
There are believed to be more than 60,000 stray dogs in Bucharest, with many dying in the cold and dying cruel deaths
Anneka holds a tiny black puppy, who was found by the team after its mother was discovered at the side of a busy road
The group spent two hours searching for young puppies belonging to a black dog found at the side of a busy road
Anneka said authorities are powerless to act in cases of extreme cruelty, and voiced fears that Spirit’s attacker will go unpunished.
It’s important he’s caught, he’s obviously a psychopath. People who do things like this are dangerous, he’s obviously incredibly unstable.
Anneka Svenska
‘It’s important he’s caught, he’s obviously a psychopath. People who do things like this are dangerous, he’s obviously incredibly unstable.
‘It’s really important that the Romanian police take this seriously.’
Incredibly the animal, who is eight years old, survived her ordeal after lifesaving emergency surgery at vet centre Dog Rescue Romania.
And she is set for a new life in Britain once she has recovered enough to travel.
Anneka said: ‘She’s a lovely dog, even after what’s happened she’s very trusting around humans.’
The woman who found her bleeding in the street thought Spirit had been ‘carefully placed’ in order to warn her to stop feeding strays.
It is estimated that there are more than 60,000 feral dogs in Bucharest alone
The team saw the huge number of dogs looked after at vet centre Dog Rescue Romania in Bucharest
The centre looks after hundreds of dogs as Romania faces a stray dogs crisis
Spirit was operated on at the centre after being brought in by a woman who discovered her in the freezing cold
‘She was shaking, there were tears running down her face,’ Anneka said.
Anneka joined IAPWA founder Nicky Stevens, 41, and author Amanda Leask, 46, to find out out the stray animal crisis facing Romania.
Sadly the abuse they discovered is not isolated.
Anneka stated: ‘The vet said they see this kind of thing all the time, it’s not a one off. They get horrific victims of abuse and they can’t do anything about it.’
Anneka holding a tiny black dog which was discovered in the freezing cold after a long search
The puppies were found in a shed belonging to an old man, where a number of dog skulls were also discovered
