Someone cut out this puppy’s tongue. Here’s how an Okatie rescue is saving his life.

York Animal Control found the puppy tied to a pole with wounds that appeared to be from dog-fighting. The vet evaluating him soon would discover something even more shocking: Someone had cut out his tongue.

Noah’s Arks Rescue in Okatie has been posting updates about the 18-month-old lab-pit bull mix now named Briggs on its Facebook since Nov. 21.

He arrived at the nonprofit rescue with bite wounds on his face, feet and legs, the rescue posted. His mouth was infected and he couldn’t eat or drink.

Since then, he has had surgery for a feeding tube, and rescuers posted that they are making plans to teach him to eat without a tongue once his wounds heal.

“We have saved a lot of dogs that have had their tongue removed. This is not a death sentence for an animal. Briggs will eventually learn how to eat and drink without a tongue. The problem we have to deal with that is different is the horrible abscesses in his mouth. ... Only after the infection is gone can we begin to retrain him on how to eat without a tongue,” the rescue posted on Facebook.

Noah’s Arks is a not-for-profit organization that provides emergency medical care and rehabilitation to abused animals.

Briggs is still in ICU and will be for a while, according to the rescue.

Meanwhile, the York County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the case.

Police told WBTV in Charlotte that they found Briggs’ previous owner, but they do not know who owned him at the time of the abuse.

This story was originally published December 7, 2017 at 5:41 AM with the headline "Someone cut out this puppy’s tongue. Here’s how an Okatie rescue is saving his life.."