An injured five-month-old lurcher is likely to lose one of his legs after he was possibly used as bait in dog fighting, and then tossed over a fence and abandoned.

The animal was dumped in Queens Gardens in Dartford on Monday night.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW

A member of the public found the trembling lurcher, who was suffering from a severe leg injury as well as puncture wounds all over his body, in their garden at around 10pm.

CCTV footage revealed the dog had been thrown over the garden fence and abandoned.

The person who found him immediately took him to Medivet Enterprise House vets in Dartford who contacted the RSPCA.

The dog isn’t microchipped and has cuts all over his body, his leg is severely injured and infected and will most likely need to be amputated. He also has a deep wound on his face and another deep wound on his ear.

Animal Rescue Officer (ARO) Brian Milligan said: “This poor lurcher puppy was callously thrown over a garden fence and left to suffer with multiple injuries. He must have been in a lot of pain, scared and confused.

"We don’t know how the lurcher, who we’ve now named Stanley, came to get these wounds but they are concerningly consistent with injuries we see in dog fighting.

"We believe this young pup could have been used as ‘bait’ to train other dogs.”

The CCTV footage, which the RSPCA is not releasing at this stage, shows a vehicle pull up round the back of the gardens in a communal garage area and what appears to be a white male get out of the vehicle and look over the fence. He then lifts the lurcher puppy into the air and throws him over the fence and into the garden before leaving.

Brian added: “We are now appealing for anyone with information to please contact us, in strictest confidence, on the inspectorate appeal line 0300 123 8018.

"If you saw anything suspicious in the area on Monday night or live in the area and also have CCTV, or have any information at all which could help our investigation, please get in touch.”

Stanley has now been taken to the RSPCA Finsbury Park Animal Hospital in London for treatment and TLC.

Brian added: “The poor dog is understandably shook up and trembling. He’s now on pain relief and getting the treatment that he needs. So far he is doing well but he’s not out of the woods yet, sadly.”