A terrified dog has been found with a severed leg after being tied up and abandoned in a deserted train station.
The rope had been tied so tight around his neck it had become embedded in his skin.
He was being eaten alive by maggots that had infested several open wounds across his back.
Gabriela Casini discovered the eight-month old dog cowering in a dirty corner of the station in Deva, Romania, last week.
He was taken to a vet who removed the maggots and splinters of bone from his stump, and put him on antibiotics.
Gabriela works with dog rescuer Jackie Turner in Sheffield, who has helped fund his road to recovery.
Jackie said he is a Romanian Mioritic Shepherd dog, who has now been named Phoenix.
She told Metro.co.uk: ‘We don’t know how he lost his leg. We’re not sure if it was deliberate or whether a train had knocked him. It’s difficult to know.
‘But people are very cruel over there. The authorities pay dog catchers to round up strays.
‘They’re paid something like 50 euros per dog and very often the dog catcher will sever a limb or an ear.
‘It’s like a trophy, they even put them on the side of houses sometimes. We’ve got our own rescue dogs that have ears and tails missing.
‘It could be that a dog catcher severed his leg off and put it on the side of his house.
‘But we don’t know for sure.’
Jackie hopes Phoenix will be rehomed in the UK once it has recovered from his injuries and is back walking.
But the prospect of a no-deal Brexit might stop it happening.
She said: ‘He won’t travel until he’s fit enough for the pet passport.
‘I definitely want him over by October because if Brexit happens and it’s a no deal, then it may change things.’
The RSPCA has warned dog and cat owners in the UK to talk with their vets if they are planning to travel abroad to Europe.
What has been a relatively simple process for 15 years could become complex and lengthy if the government has no agreement in place with the European Union by October 31, the new deadline day for Brexit.
RSPCA’s Head of Public Affairs David Bowles said getting the necessary travel documentation for pets could take much longer.
He warned: ‘Without the right paperwork, pets and their owners risk being delayed or even turned back at borders.
‘And travel with your cat and dog will only be allowed through a small number of designated ports rather than anywhere as is the case at present.’
Jackie started rescuing Miriotic dogs two years ago and has now rehomed about 100 dogs all over the UK.
She fundraises for their medical and travel costs on her Facebook page Mioritic Dog Rescue.