The sound of muffled whimpering yesterday led animal welfare officers to a plank of wood under which they found a dog that had been buried alive but had managed to poke his nose out through the soil and was still breathing.

The dog, a young female, had a gunshot wound to the head and all four legs were tied together in one of the animal welfare department’s most gruesome discoveries.

Officer Colin Kelly said an anonymous caller had informed them of three neglected dogs in Birżebbuġa on the way to Għar Ħasan.

On investigating, they heard the sound of desperate whimpering coming from a nearby field.

“We followed the sound until we came to a plank of wood on the soil under a tree. On top of the plank there was part of a tree trunk. When I lifted the wood I saw the nose of a dog. That was were the whimpering was coming from.

“I dusted off the nose and realised that the snout was bound with what looked like a shoelace... We started digging up the animal and found the dog’s front paws were tied together as well as the back paws. Then all four legs were tied again with another piece of string,” he said as he held brown shoelaces in his hands.

He said he was impressed at how calm the poor thing remained after all it had been through. Sometimes, when dogs are scared, they can become aggressive with their rescuers but this one remained friendly.

As the officers dusted the dog down they realised that it had serious head injuries. It transpired that the dog had been shot and needed an operation, which was carried out yesterday afternoon. His condition will become clearer today.

Meanwhile, officers also found the three dogs that the anonymous caller had mentioned earlier. They were well kept but their living conditions were not up to standard. The owner was told to improve the situation or face charges.