Buddy, a three-legged Labrador-cross, is happy as could be as he nears his third birthday, just over a year after moving in with new family in Christchurch.
But the start of Buddy's life was a completely different story, with his past ranked as one of the most shocking animal abuse cases investigated by the SPCA this year.
Buddy was only a five-month-old puppy when his old owner first beat him after he had a toileting accident.
The second time happened when he dug a hole while chained up, only a short time after.
The two beatings left Buddy with two fractures to his left hind leg, bruising and lung contusions.
The beatings were so severe it meant Buddy's leg had to be amputated.
His owner was convicted of wilfully ill-treating Buddy in 2017, and sentenced to 10 months imprisonment and disqualified from owning animals for five years.
Luckily for Buddy, he was taken in by a new family in September 2016.
After meeting Buddy for the first time Sean and Chrissie Taylor knew he would fit in perfectly.
"I wasn't looking for a dog when I saw him, he just happened to be at the same place I was at,” Mr Taylor said.
"It was one of those situations where you think, see a dog. Like a dog. And that's all there is to it."
Buddy's recovered so well he sometimes forgets he's missing a limb.
"I sometimes watch him with other dogs and he's almost puzzling as to why they've got that other limb. I think he's forgotten that he ever had a fourth one," said Mr Taylor.
Buddy's new-found joy hasn't stopped his family from forgetting the abuse he suffered. It still makes them angry.
"You always know the world's full of people like that… but when you come into contact with the consequences it's a bit closer to home,” Mr Taylor said.
He said adoption needed to be taken seriously.
"You don't make decisions like that lightly."
But if you do welcome a new dog into your life, Mr Taylor says the new family member "will happily trust you as long as you commit to them".
If you'd like to give a dog like Buddy a second chance you can head to the SPCA website to adopt, or donate.
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