Severe cases of animal abuse are absolutely heartbreaking, not only for the animals themselves but for everyone who has to witness it as well. Unfortunately, animal abuse happens all too often, and there are plenty of people who should never come anywhere near animals. The following story is most definitely an example of that.

A woman who simply walking along her usual daily route suddenly witnessed an absolutely horrific sight.

The woman, Jane Harper, was simply walking along River Trent in Nottinghamshire, England with her own four-footer, but when she encountered another dog in a tragic condition, she was absolutely shocked.

Jane saw a pooch in the river, and she had leash tied to a rock. The four-footer was purposefully left behind to drown in the river.

It makes you wonder how someone could possibly be so cruel, Jane was absolutely heartbroken when she saw the four-footer pretty much lifeless in the water. She was concerned and worried that the pooch would already be dead, but she moved closer and noticed that she still had a little bit of life left in her: she blinked.

Luckily, she wasn’t walking on her own, but she was accompanied by her friend Joanne, who held Jane’s pup while she checked on the other dog.

“We thought she might have just got caught in the river but it was only when I tried to take her out I couldn’t move her. The water was so murky you couldn’t see the rock at first. It was horrific.” Jane said to a reporter from the BBC.

At that moment, it also became clear that this was a clear case of abuse and not an accident. The leash was tied to a large rock, an absolutely despicable act of animal cruelty.

Luckily, Jane was quickly able to get rid of the leash and she took the pup to higher and drier ground. The four-footer was completely undercooled and was just barely able to survive because her head rested on top of another rock to breathe.

More people started to show up, and Good Samaritans arrived with towels to keep the poor pup warm. One pedestrian even took off his sweater. As soon as the pup was relatively stable and out of the water, she was taken to the vet’s office in a rush.

“She was absolutely frozen, we all thought she would die. It was very emotional. She’s a big, heavy dog. Then another dog walker came and got her on to the grass, and wrapped her in his jumper. Another lady came running out with towels. It was a real community effort,” Jane mentioned.

She was microchipped – and it didn’t take long before the police were able to identify the horrible owners of this pooch. They were arrested right away.

The microchip also revealed her name: Bella.

The Nottinghamshire Police department was absolutely in shock upon realizing that someone could do such a cruel thing to an animal. They also shared a picture of the large rock that was used to tie her up.

Even though Bella was almost completely lifeless when Jane found her, she is expected to make a full recovery and was doing much better after she was rescued.

Vets say that she was likely minutes away from death and that Jane came at just the right time.

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Source: Welfare of Dogs, The Animal Club, BBC