The dog, named Souffle, was rescued alongside 33 others by animal welfare charity the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Pennsylvania SPCA).
The charity does not know how old he is or “how much time he has left,” it said in a Facebook post. However, it wants to make sure his last days are the best they can possibly be.
“We cannot begin to imagine what his life has been like,” the charity said.
The location Souffle was rescued from was also connected to a case involving guns, drugs, and other alleged crimes, Gillian Kocher, a spokesperson for Pennsylvania SPCA told Newsweek.
“A portion of the dogs were on heavy chains outside and the remainder were in crates stacked inside a garage. [Souffle] was beyond the ability to fight but we believe he was still being used for breeding purposes,” Kocher said.
Veterinarians suspect Souffle went blind from severe untreated or undertreated eye injuries. Kocher said that some of the other dogs rescued had also lost their vision.
Souffle is currently living with a foster family while the charity seeks a home for him.
A statement from his foster family posted to Facebook said: “Souffle is a very sweet senior boy who loves to nap and get pets from his humans. This guy loves his treats as much as he loves attention. Souffle gets along well with other dogs, and would do well in a home with another animal with low energy.”
His foster family said that as he is blind, he does need help being guided on walks.
“He can walk upstairs but does not do well when going downstairs. Souffle is a really good dog just looking to spend the rest of his days giving and getting as much love as possible,” the statement said.
Dogfighting is a bloodsport that breeds dogs specifically for the purpose of fighting one another. It is done for entertainment and usually only ends when one of the dogs is too injured to continue, the Humane Society of the United States said on its website.
Putting on a dogfight, and being a spectator to one, is a felony across the whole of the United States, however this does not prevent it from happening.
“[Souffle] was removed from someone with prior convictions of dog fighting,” Kocher told Newsweek. “Unfortunately, dogfighting is not uncommon. There are a variety of types of fighting that occur. The off-handed street fights of opportunity all the way through organized multi-state attended fights. We see the full gambit in PA and do everything we can to combat against it and put an end to it, but we are limited by the resources we have.”
Kocher said there are many of the other 33 dogs still up for adoption.
