The veterinarian who spent six hours operating on the stabbed and beaten Pitbull terrier found close to death in Pembroke has offered a $5,000 reward for the conviction of the attackers.

Dr. Maureen Ware-Cieters said she had never had to deal with a worse act of human depravity and said Max had been subjected to the "most indescribably brutal torture''.

Yesterday she charged anyone with information to come forward, claiming that those witnesses who stayed silent were as culpable as the sick attackers.

And The Royal Gazette has also learned that this is the second time that Max has been rescued after a brush with death.

The 17-year-old keeper of Max, Joshua Hayward, ran to the Hanover Veterinary Surgery early on Wednesday morning after arriving at the kennel in Kings Court to find Max barely alive.

He had been tied securely and then repeatedly stabbed all over his body.

Dr. Ware-Cieters said: "His left eye had been stabbed through, his right hock had been severed through to the bone, an unsuccessful attempt had been made to slit his throat, his back and the dome of his head had received large slicing and stabbing wounds.

"The blade used to inflict these wounds measured at least four-and-a-half centimetres in width, and can only have been expressly ultra-sharpened for the purpose. Enormous force must have been applied.'' And she said the attack would have probably required more than one person to restrain Max sufficiently to allow what she could best describe as "targeted injuries'' to be inflicted.

The vet added: "This was highly likely to have been a group activity, and, in my personal opinion, was either an act of revenge or an act of warning to the person who was known to care for the animal.

"We have never at our hospital been forced to deal with a worse act of human depravity.'' And she appealed for people to come forward with information, herself personally offering a $5,000 reward for anyone who could give information leading to the arrest and conviction of the sick culprits.

A member of the public has also offered a $500 reward.

"This animal mutilation will have caused considerable noise in the neighbourhood, and the cries of the poor creature must have been audible,'' the doctor added.

"There must be witnesses. Anyone who knows the identity of the individuals who did this, and remains silent, is equally culpable.

"I implore anyone with information to contact the inspector of the SPCA.'' And she praised Joshua and his two friends who rushed to get help, as well as the two nurses at the surgery who went to the dog's aid and transported him back to the hospital.

Vet offers reward As Joshua was only 17 and not old enough to be the legal owner of a dog, he can only be considered its keeper.

Since the dog was not taken to the hospital by its owner, the vet is not bound by client/vet confidentiality rules.

As a result, she has handed the dog over to the responsibility of the SPCA.

However, although expected to live, Max will not be fit enough to be re-housed for some time. His recovery will be a very slow process.

Joshua, who lives nearby in the Pembroke area, said he had been sickened by the attack.

He told The Royal Gazette that he could think of no reason why anybody would want to harm him or his dog.

He said he kept the dog in Kings Court, just feet away from the homes of some of his relatives, after taking charge of its care about two months ago.

The Royal Gazette has learned that this is not the first time Max has come very close to death.

Last year, we published photographs of him, then known as Clyde, after animal welfare experts found him weighing under half of his ideal weight in the Pembroke area.

Thought to be about two-years-old and weighing only 29 pounds, he was starving and only a day or two away from death.

Dr. Ware-Cieters then neutered the dog and described him as a gentle dog that had never been used for fighting.

Even after the torment he had endured at that stage, he was still said to be a loving and affectionate animal.

The red-haired Pitbull was nursed back to good health by the SPCA, who later last year managed to re-house him.

Investigations are now ongoing to find out how and why 17-year-old Joshua had become the keeper of the dog, when it had been rehoused with somebody else.

Anybody with information about the attack should call Police on 295-0011, Crime Stoppers on 1-800-623-8477, or the SPCA on 236-7333.

Sorry state: Max was first rescued last July by SPCA worker Jessica Waltham and inspector Charles Whited after being found weighing less than half his ideal weight at just 29 pounds in Pembroke.

CRIME CRM