ARCHIVED - Badly beaten puppy blinded as owner is arrested in Elche
The owner of the severely injured three-month-old puppy has been arrested in the Elche Baix Vinalopó comarca, Alicante province.
A 27-year-old man has been arrested in Elche over the horrific beating of a three-month-old puppy, which left it blind and with other serious injuries.
The owner took the tiny black puppy to the vet with serious wounds, claiming he had found it in the street after being attacked by another dog.
One of the puppy's eyes had literally been knocked out its socket, with loss of vision in the other eye, broken skull bones and the dog was hemorrhaging from the nose, police confirmed today, Thursday, June 17 - injuries not consistent with a dog attack.
After the operation, the veterinary surgery confirmed the little dog would be left with long term loss of vision and other complications as a result of the mistreatment, to which the man replied it wasn't his problem and refused to pay for the vet costs.
The surgery contacted a local animal protection service which alerted the police to a possible case of animal abuse, and officers from the National and Local Police in Elche managed to locate the owner and arrest him.
They also searched his home to see if he had more animals and to determine the conditions the un-chipped puppy had been living in.
The dog is now recovering from its ordeal at the Huellas Salvadas de Elche rescue centre in Elche.
Earlier this month, police in the Vega Baja of Alicante province shut down a farm at the foot of the Sierra Orihuela where cockerels were being bred for fighting, with the owners now facing animal abuse charges.
IMAGE: Polica Nacional/Policia Local Elche