Chico found badly wounded in Inanda

CHICO the missing bull terrier was found on Tuesday after being stolen from his home in Phoenix three weeks ago and is now being treated for open wounds on his body.

He was found in the Mtshebheni area, near the Inanda police station, by his owner Shervan Naidoo and a friend.

Naidoo, 28, was responding to a tip-off he received about a dog-fighting syndicate operating from an informal settlement.

He says he spent more than R10 000 on fuel and seeking information on his dog’s whereabouts.

He also shut his call centre business for three weeks to search for eight-month-old Chico.

Part of the cost of the search for Chico included Naidoo being conned out of a R2 000 reward he put up by a person who claimed to be an informant.

Naidoo said he chased one lead after the other until he found Chico in Inanda.

“I found him tied up at the back of the shack. He was dehydrated.

“When I called his name he could barely manage to wag his tail,” Naidoo said

PICTURE: MOTSHWARI MOFOKEN/AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY/ANA Dog-owner Shervan Naidoo, who did not want to be pictured, at the Mount Edgecombe Veterinary Clinic with his dog, Chico, which he found with injuries believed to have come from dog-fighting at an informal settlement in Inanda.