Dog Found Tied To Door At NJ School, Ears Cut Off

WOODBRIDGE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Officials are trying to find the owner of a dog that was found abandoned at a school in New Jersey and had its ears cut off.

The Cane Corso was found tied to a door at School No. 9 in Port Reading on Tuesday.

The dog was taken to the Woodbridge Animal Shelter where he is being treated by a veterinarian. The shelter said the dog's ears were cut "completely flush with his head."

"The ear cropping that had been done was not done by a vet," Heather Campione, manager of the Woodbridge shelter, told 1010 WINS.

The male dog is black with a white star in its chest.

Campione said he is very friendly and doesn't understand why someone would leave him at the school.

"We're just a mile away from where he was tied up, the animal shelter, so that would have been a safe place to bring him," she said. "When people don't want their dogs anymore, they do dumb things -- especially tying up a dog of that size at an elementary school where a small child could have approached him."

Officials estimate the dog to be between 5 and 7 years old. The shelter's staff has named the dog George.

"He loves the frisbee, loves the ball and he likes tug of war. We've learned that this morning," Woodbridge Animal Control Officer Austin Clyburn told WCBS 880's Levon Putney.

"You can tell just by the way the ears were done that it was done in a backyard. Someone didn't know what they were doing," Clyburn told Putney.

Others at the shelter said George is a playful dog.

"Naturally, you've got to feel bad for the dog," said Matt D'Amico, who also works at the shelter. "Seeing him outside now and just the past couple days, he's been just a big goofball, he's just a big baby."

So far, about two dozen people have shown interest in adopting George, including police detective Ken Gallop.

"That would be the second boy in the house. I have three girls," Gallop told Putney.

Campione said they are looking for more information about the dog.

"He seems like he was an outside dog, he's pretty dirty. I would say if somebody noticed him from a neighbor's backyard and he's not there anymore, they should call the shelter," she said. "We're tying to find anyone who knows the owner of this dog so we can charge him with abandonment and animal cruelty."

Anyone with information is urged to call the NJSPCA at 800-582-5979 or the Woodbridge Animal Shelter at 732-855-0600 x5007.