SPRING, Texas – A pit bull that was once used as a "bait dog" to train other dogs in fights is on the mend after over $17,000 was raised to help him live.
A good Samaritan found and rescued the pit bull. His name is Calvin.
Calvin is scheduled to have surgery on his leg Tuesday after vets at Blue Pearl Pet Hospital have been closely monitoring a wound on his right hind leg.
PHOTOS: A closer look at a "bait" dog
He is an adorable, 4-year-old pit bull mix, and though his face shows nothing but tenderness and understanding and love, his ravaged body tells another story.
The deep gashes and bite marks and loss of skin, show he has been used for years as a bait dog.
“This dog has been used as a bait dog over and over and over again, and yet he will come over and lick your face and wag his tail,” said Dr. Michael McFadden, who is a veterinary surgeon.
What’s a bait dog?
It’s a dog that cruel, dogfight promoters will throw into the ring with much bigger, stronger dogs so the larger dogs can train on them and tear them apart for practice.
“It just tears me up to see people treating animals like this. It is very hard to know that people would use these animals, they are so helpless, and they take advantage of that,” Corrine Manley, who is helping to care for Calvin, said as she fought back tears.
Now doctors at Blue Pearl Specialty and Emergency Pet Hospital in Spring are working to heal Calvin.
He will require expensive surgery to repair a horribly lacerated Achilles tendon.
Calvin will need extensive wound repair and treatments for his many cuts and puncture wounds, and he will need antibiotics to kill infection.
Some of the treatment is so painful, they said they have to give him gobs of peanut butter to make him feel better and help him forget about the trauma.
As it is now, Calvin can’t use his back right leg at all and it will take thousands of dollars to repair it, to fuse his leg back together so he can walk on it again.
If doctors don’t do the surgery, Calvin will have to have his rear, right leg amputated.
That will take roughly $5,000 alone, just for that one surgery.
“We’re hoping for about $5,000 just to get his back leg repaired again," Manley said. "That’s the biggest thing we are going for right now, just to get him able to walk again”
They said they're not filing charges with police because they believe there is not enough evidence to find the person responsible.
If you would like to help Calvin, a GoFundMe account has been set up in his name to cover all medical expenses.