A terrified dog has been found buried alive, its cries heard by a man out for a walk.
Eric Purdue was with his son and nephew in Georgia, US, went they heard a whimpering sound.
Mr Purdue said he looked down to see the eyes of a terrified dog, and began digging with his bare hands.
"It's OK, baby. We're going to get you out. We'll get you out baby," he can be heard saying in a video of the rescue.
"I think she knew we were trying to help her, so she just laid there. She wasn't super responsive."
It took half-an-hour of digging to free the dog from the hole she'd be buried in. Mr Purdue and his family took the dog home and cleaned her up.
They decided to adopt her and name her Lulu, but she had to be euthanised at a rescue clinic shortly after, her injuries too severe.
"I was planning on adopting the dog. I visualised the dog riding around with me in my truck," Mr Purdue told NBC affiliate WXIA-TV.
He has now shared the photo and story on Facebook in the hopes of finding her killer.
"If somebody recognises that dog, that's all we need, please get in touch, we can find this person... somebody had to see something," Mr Purdue pleaded.
"This person needs help… or some serious jail time, or both. I just couldn't believe that someone would take so much time to do such a terrible thing to a dog.
"They're sick. Sick. And if they're just plain cruel, maybe someone will bury them for a day or two, see how they like it."
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction for the animal abuse.
"Someone tortured this dog by packing her in dirt, where she couldn't move, drink or escape the terror of being buried alive," said PETA vice president of communications, Colleen O'Brien.
"PETA urges anyone with information about this case to come forward immediately so that whoever buried this dog can be held responsible and stopped from hurting anyone else."
Newshub.
