It’s been a tough week for dogs.

Right on the heels of this heartbreaking (but also sort of uplifting?) story of a dog surviving a tornado, we hear of another miracle dog.

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A stray dog in Malta proved that she had the heart of a champion, when police officers discovered her buried in sand up to her face, her legs and snout bound, and suffering from pellet gun shot wounds to the head. Despite the horrible abuse (she had more than 40 pellet gun bullets removed from her skull), the dog, named “Star” by her rescuers, has managed to pull through.

Naturally, the citizens of Malta are horrified by this story and are demanding that animal abuse be met with harsher penalties. Under the current law, those convicted of animal cruelty could face a one-year maximum term in prison.

And because Star was a stray, there are few leads on who her tormenter was, though Facebook pages have sprung up to help with the investigation. (via New York Daily News)

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