— A puppy found last week with serious burns to his face is on antibiotics, pain medications and face creams, but he is expected to make a nearly full recovery.

Dudley’s tail rarely stops wagging and he never meets a stranger.

“Loves to play with toys, loves other dogs. It’s great,” said Dave Walters with Pawfect Match Rescue and Rehabilitation.

In some ways, Dudley is a lot like most puppies his age. But, in his short life, he’s already experienced an enormous amount of pain and suffering, likely at the hands of someone else.

‘By all appearances, it looks like his muzzle has been burnt, either by boiling liquid, possibly flames, but his nose is OK,” Walters said.

Last week, someone found Dudley after he wandered up to their Lenoir County property with another dog. They called the authorities after it was clear the dog needed some serious help.

Pawfect Match Rescue and Rehabilitation answered the call to rescue and Bruce Pait and his girlfriend answered to call to foster.

“When you first get a dog like this, you wonder what shape he’s going to be in, not just physically, but emotionally,” Pait said

So far, Dudley hasn’t meet a beat. Not only is he happy but, all things considered, he is in pretty good physical condition.

“His eyes checked out perfectly OK, which we’re thrilled about. He can see perfectly well, there’s no scarring,’ Walters said

Dudley can also hear and chew normally.

While it is still unclear how he ended up injured, Dudley is now getting lots of love and care. His foster family said their ultimate goal is to find him a forever home with people who will take care of him.

“There’s this saying in the rescue world, ‘who rescues who,’ that he gets the opportunity to rescue someone right back,” Pait said.

Dudley has a follow-up appointment Monday where veterinarians will monitor his progress.

WRAL News reached out the Lenoir county Sheriff’s Office to see if they’ve opened up a case investigation into what happened to Dudley, but have not received a response.