A beautiful bulldog who tragically had her ears "hacked off" has been surrendered to a rescue centre.
Piper the XXL bully was handed into South East Dog Rescue (SEDR) as a stray, though the warden strongly suspected the finder was in fact her owner.
Staff immediately noticed Piper's ears had been cropped and she was suffering with a chronic ear infection.
Piper isn't the first rescue dog to arrive with militated ears - the charity has noticed a recent rise in cases.
Kymm White, founder of SEDR, told The Mirror: "Piper's ears have been barbarically cropped. This act of mutilation is extremely painful and traumatic, and it's carried out for a fashionable trend.
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"Although it is illegal to crop ears in the UK, it still happens and many puppy buyers purchase dogs from abroad to avoid the legislation.
"Please don't purchase a cropped dog from a breeder and always adopt, don't shop."
Under Section 5 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, ear cropping is illegal in England and Wales.
It is against the law to carry out this procedure yourself or to send your dog to a vet in this country or abroad to have their ears cropped.
Ear cropping is often done with razor blades and no anaesthetic, purely for cosmetic reasons.
As well as having her ears chopped off, poor Piper is very underweight and has an active prolapse which will need emergency surgery.
The young bulldog is still being assessed and will need a home without any other dogs, cat or furry animals.
A home with somebody who has experience with larger dog breeds is ideal.
Kymm added: "She's exceptionally friendly and will do anything for a treat. A perfect patient at the vets and a real cuddle monster."
A man was recently jailed for paying £200 to have three puppies' ears cropped in the UK.
Warren Wesley Jackman, 40, from Birmingham, received a 16-week sentence on 13 June and was disqualified from keeping all animals for life.
RSPCA inspectors found the bulldog puppies bleeding with stitches in their ears and immediately seized them under police custody.
Inspector Vicki Taylor, who arrived at the scene, said: "The puppies' ears were freshly cropped and had not yet healed; they still had stitches in the wounds. The male pups' ears were inflamed and sore."
What do you think about ear cropping? Let us know in the comments below.
