St. Petersburg, Florida, police received a call on Thursday, January 6, from a man who said he found his missing dog with tight rubber bands around her ears.
Arron Watkins said that his dog, a three-month-old Pit Bull/Boxer mix named Nikki, had gone missing the previous week, according to News Channel 8, an NBC affiliate.
Nikki underwent surgery on her ears at the SPCA Tampa Bay and is recovering.
"Some people think that it makes the dog look more menacing or threatening to other people," SPCA spokesperson Megan Trethewey told the news source. "And the other reason is dog fighting, so…when they're in the pen together…they do not have the extra flesh to grab upon."
Watkins insists that he is not the one who put the bands on Nikki's ears.
"I don't believe in dog fighting. And I don't believe in cruelty to animals," he told the news provider.
Still, Trethewey said that the animal would likely be put up for adoption.
"The best part is that she is now at SPCA Tampa Bay, where she is being cared for," she told the news source.
Dog fighting is a felony in Florida.