The cruelties some people commit against animals are incredibly disturbing. But what some animal rights activists recently discovered in Vietnam is truly shocking: a dog whose mouth had been taped shut. Judging by its condition, it must have been living with this torture for some time.

The dog was scared to death. Of course, it had the worst possible encounter with humans.

The veterinarian had to remove the tape with extreme caution. Some of it had already penetrated the flesh, and deeply.

The pain this dog is feeling must be inexplicable.

When the tape was finally completely removed, the disastrous effects could be seen: the skin had sunk down to the bone. After the successful operation, Lucky (literally: Fortunato, as the rescuers wanted to call him) can eat again for the first time.

After the meal, they bandaged his eyes again. The risk of infection remains very high.

A couple of days passed, but little by little, Lucky began to show clear signs of recovery and was on the way to a speedy recovery thanks to the care and supervision of his rescuers.

In this video (in English), you can relive all the painful stages of Lucky’s story:

The marks left by the adhesive tape on Lucky’s mouth are unmistakable. But the dog is much stronger now and now also allows himself to be pampered by his rescue team. He was lucky to have been found and saved from a grim fate that condemned him to certain death. Now, his only hope is to track down his tormentors so they can be held accountable for their despicable actions and no longer inflict similar torture on other defenseless animals.