Salt Lake City • A malnourished dog found in a Utah desert was on the mend Wednesday after being discovered by a man riding off-road west of Salt Lake City.

The dog had lost all her hair to a skin disease caused by mites when Matt Bentley of Sandy found her in an off-roading area in the west desert on Sunday. He loaded the pup into his Jeep, got her some food and took her to a veterinarian for treatment.

It’s unclear how the dog ended up in the desolate landscape with little to eat or drink, said Lila Oulson with the Utah Animal Adoption Center. But without her fur to protect her from the cold, the pup likely would have died within days if she hadn’t been found, she said.

“She is skin and bones,” said Oulson. Though she might be a type of hound, “we can’t even tell what breed she is right now because she looks so bad.”

The dog has a condition called sarcoptic mange, a highly contiguous skin disease that caused her hair to fall out and left a crust on large parts of her skin. Rescue workers must wear gloves to pet her, Oulson said.

The severity of her condition indicates she’s been on her own for two to three months, though it’s hard to tell exactly how long she was in the desert, Oulson said. It’s been at least a month since she ate regularly, she said.

The group gave her the name Kelly, because it carries the meaning “warrior” in Gaelic. The dog is expected to recover from the mange and be adopted if no owner comes forward.

Workers believe the dog either got lost or was left in the salt flats and sand dunes about 40 miles west of Salt Lake City. Her behavior indicates she was a house pet, but her teeth are also diseased and her toenails have grown long.

While initially afraid of Bentley’s Jeep, the dog quickly became friendly, he said. He spotted her while on an off-road trip with his own dog, Bella, in celebration of her birthday.