A dog reportedly chewed off its own paw in order to escape from the chains which had held for several years in the home where her owner was murdered.

Treya, a terrier, was taken in by a rescue centre after she was discovered by firefighters at a vacant property in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Neighbours had called them after discovering the injured creature.

Treya had been living underneath the abandoned home after her owner was murdered.

Neighbours had fed her and thrown down hay in to keep her warm at winter, according to the St Louis Post-Dispatch.

It is unclear whether it was the same neighbours who called the emergency services or why no one had tried to help the creature before she bit off her own foot.

But her “sad, tragic story” has an “amazing ending,” according to Randy Grim, who runs Stray Rescue of Saint Louis.

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When Mr Grim took Treya in, she was severely psychologically damaged from years of isolation and was scared of humans.

In addition to her missing paw, she also suffered a skin condition and heartworm – a parasite which can be fatal.

“Her emotional wounds matched the intensity of her costly physical ones. The thought of chewing off a limb just to survive haunts all of us at Stray Rescue,” Mr Grim told US news channel KSDK.

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But Treya has now been placed with a family who are attempting to help her socialise and recover from her illnesses.

She has also been introduced to other dogs in a bid to improve her mental well being.