LINCOLN, CA (KTXL/CNN) - A suitcase bobbing in the cool waters of the San Joaquin River delta could've just been trash, but suspicious boaters fished it out anyway.
Zipped inside the suitcase was a six-month-old puppy badly injured, thrown in the water and left for dead.
"On her left front leg, she's got a compound fracture, the bones exposed, the tendons are exposed. She's got some severe abrasions from her neck down one side of her body. She also has a pelvic fracture," said Maria Minney, a foster volunteer taking care of the poor pup.
The boaters found the puppy, now named Juno, around the I-5 and State Route 4 area of the delta on June 28.
Stockton Animal Services got the dog. Then NorCal Bully Breed Rescue took over her care.
How the pit bull mix was hurt and how she ended up in a suitcase is unclear.
"She was either intentionally injured or accidentally injured and intentionally thrown into the river and zipped into a suitcase," Minney said.
One week later, Stockton Animal Services said they have no information on what happened to Juno.
The puppy is recovering in a loving foster home.
"She's had a couple of bad nights, but she's been doing better. And after the first couple of days where she was completely immobile, beginning on Monday she started standing up like Bambi," Minney said.
Minney, who is helping nurse Juno back to health, has a message for the person who did this.
"Call the Stockton Animal Control and explain yourself. Otherwise we can only assume it was done out of evil," she said.
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