Updated 1.55pm with operation details

A dog was picked off the streets this morning with a chain embedded in its neck, reinforcing animal welfare organisations' demand to change legislation about chained dogs. 

The pure breed Shar Pei was picked up from a street in Qormi and taken to the Association for Abandoned Animals. The dog was successfully operated upon hours ago at Happy Paws clinic, despite its horrible scars which were infested with maggots.

The dog now has sandfly, stitches around its neck, and a limp in one of its back legs but is expected to survive.

Graphic pictures have been sent to Times of Malta showing the extent of the dog's injuries.

The dog, which is not microchipped, somewhat managed to break free and was found roaming the streets by a motorist. 

"Why are we still treating dogs like slaves in 2016," a distraught Rosalind Agius from AAA told Times of Malta

She was referring to legislation in Malta which still permits dogs to be tied all day, provided the chain is at least three metres long. Most EU countries ban such a practice.

Hundreds of animal lovers held a walk in St Julian's recently calling for strict legislation to ban the practice of chaining dogs. 

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