CHARLOTTE, NC (WSVN)- A woman rescued a puppy after she saw it was being used as ‘money’ in a drug deal at a North Carolina gas station.
Kaitlin Cappelluti said she went into a Charlotte gas station when she noticed a few people crowded around the pup. After seeing scars and burns on him, she told Fox 46 that she started to ask questions.
“What’s wrong with him? Why does he have all these marks and scars and burns all over him and is missing all this hair?” she asked the men. “And he told me they told me they put some flea powder on him and it burned his skin.”
That’s when the group of men asked her if she had some ‘rock’ that she could trade them for the puppy. Cappelluti also noticed the dog’s tail was cut off, so she says she took it upon herself and convinced the men to sell her the pup for $50.
“This puppy was neglected in my opinion and abused. He needed medical attention and he wasn’t given it,” Cappelluit said.
South Charlotte Dog Rescue said the dog was in poor shape when Cappelluit brought him in.
“The scars that have already healed all over his body tell a horrific story of his first weeks in this world,” they wrote. “Burns on his back show recent trauma as well. His tail has been docked and developed an infection.”
The pup, now named Bart, is undergoing treatment with the rescue’s veterinarian, and is now in a foster home. Rescue workers believe he is about 10 to 12 weeks old.
“I mean he is probably the cutest puppy around and he loves to be held and cuddled like a little baby and given hugs and kisses,” Cappelluit gushed. “He is just the cutest thing ever, he really is.”
Police are now investigating the case to see if the original owners could face animal cruelty charges.
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