A young dog found abandoned in the cold outside the London Humane Society with grave injuries has shocked and saddened workers at the organization.

The female dachsund-beagle cross was found by staff tied to a fence at the front of the shelter with a mangled leash after closing time at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Judy Foster, executive director of the London Humane Society, says "To find a dog like that in the cold and abandoned and hurting, not able to walk. It's just tragic."

The humane society says it initally appeared she had been hit by a car and left, but given all her additional injuries it remains unclear if that's the case.

Injuries to her nose and shoulder were immediately visible, and she was unable to support her own weight.

A closer examination revealed large open and infected wounds on her belly that were raw and making it difficult for her to move.

"A good half of the belly was open - raw, bleeding, oozing - from this major wound on its belly," Foster says.

She had a shoelace in place of a collar that had cut into the skin around her neck in three differeng places and bruising on her lips.

Chris Chew, an investigator with the humane society, explains "Inside the mouth there was bruising and some area inside the gumline that show stress on the skin. And then there is fur loss all around the muzzle, which indicates something has been on the dog like a muzzle, specifically maybe to keep the dog quiet, or maybe even tape because of the tightness of it."

The dog is being treated by veterinarians and cared for by shelter staff. She is expected to make a full recovery.

Matt Truesdale, a veterinary technician, says "We are still cleaning out the wet wounds. She is prescribed steriods, antibiotics for at least two weeks, I believe, and then we will go from there to see how much longer treatement we need to do."

With no one to question, staff are unsure exactly what happened, but believe the dog was likely abused.

Foster says it is one of the worst cases she has seen, sadly though abuse is not uncommon.

In 2013 the London Humane Society investigated over 1,200 cases of alleged animal abuse.

Anyone who may have information about the dog and where she came from is asked to call the humane society at 519-451-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Finally, a Toronto-based business, Textile Waste Diversion Inc., was so moved by the story they are offering a $2,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction in the case.