An abandoned puppy which was discovered with its mouth tied shut with a plastic zip tie is thriving in a new home.
Norman, twelve weeks, was left for dead on a country back road with his jaw bound.
Liz Heatherly, 28, was driving in her local area on April 4 when she spotted little Norman at the side of the road.
Immediately she noticed the white ring around his snout from a distance.
Liz and her sister pulled over to help the nervous pooch and realized that his mouth had been cruelly fastened with a plastic tie, which had cut into his skin.
Liz, a retail specialist, immediately freed Norman from the tie and rushed him to the local vet in Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina, US.
Shockingly, Norman’s vets believed he had been abandoned up to four days before Liz came across him and told her that he was severely malnourished.
The Labrador/hound mix was also covered in fleas and ticks which were removed before Liz took him home.
Liz said: “My sister and I were driving along the road and as we were driving we noticed this black and white puppy on the side of the road with a perfect white circle around his mouth.
“It was so strange, we decided to pull over. It was then we noticed it was a plastic zip-tie holding his mouth shut.
“We were horrified.
“I couldn’t believe that someone could be such a monster.
“We took him to our local vet Cleveland Park Animal Clinic. The zip tie had been put around his mouth so tightly, his mouth was all bloody and scabbed.
“They believed he had been zip tied for between three and four days.
“He was severely underweight and covered with ticks and fleas.
“We got his shots and gave him a flea bath.
“We treated his cuts with the vitamin C oil once we got home.”
Despite his tough beginnings, Liz says the pup is making himself right at home with her other dog Jackson, a four-year-old beagle.
While Norman’s doctors believed his hair would never grow back on the scar tissue left behind from the zip tie, Liz said she was surprised to see it return – but white.
“My other dog Jackson usually hates other dogs but he seems to really like Norman’s sweet and timid demeanor.
“They get along so well.
“We’re struggling with potty training at the moment but I think that’s the case with all new puppies.
“Around Norman’s mouth there is a bit of scaring.
“The doctors believed he wouldn’t grow hair there again but it’s actually growing back in white patches which is weird.
“We’re just glad to be able to give Norman a loving home after all he’s been through.”
