Shelter staff at the Best Friends Sanctuary, a rescue in Jamestown, Tennessee, arrived at work on Friday morning to find something horrific - two of their dogs were trapped in a cage together, covered in blood.
During the night, an intruder had broken into the shelter and put Sam, a playful pit bull, in the same kennel as Bucky, a boxer mix.
Shelter staff believe the intruder forced the two dogs to fight, until each was covered in the others' blood and badly hurt. Bucky was so devastatingly injured that he had to be euthanized.
"It's just sad to see that someone would be that evil and put two dogs to watch it for a show, you know, to put them through that," Sharon Cravens, president of Best Friends, told local outlet WBIR.
Volunteers described the pit bull as "Sampson the sweetie," explaining he had been rescued from prior abuse, in a post on the shelter's Facebook page.
"Sam is grateful that he was saved and takes every opportunity to show just how much he appreciates his humans," the shelter posted. "Hugs? No problem. Kisses? Got it covered!"
It's hard to imagine what kind of person would break into an animal shelter and force two dogs to fight until the brink of death.
The Jamestown police are currently investigating the incident, and anyone with information about the cruel break-in is encouraged to contact the police department.
Sam escaped abuse only to face even more violence - hopefully once he recovers, he'll find a home with a family who will treat him with nothing but love and kindness.
