Crete dog Sotiris due to be put down is saved by 12 hours of surgery

Daily Mail — A dog due to be put down after its jaw was shattered at the hands of its cruel owner has been saved through 12 hours of complicated animal surgery.

The puppy, named Sotiris, was beaten so badly by its previous owner he had broken bones on both sides of his mouth, while he had lost two thirds of his upper jawbone.

Initially found by a passerby, suffering on the streets of Chania and was taken to a nearby veterinarian  clinic for euthanasia at a clinic when a kindhearted vet decided to try to save him through surgery.

Fotini Tsitinidou and her assistant Charalampos Ksanthoudakis are now being heralded as animal welfare champions in Greece after saving Sotiris’s life.

Alongside Mr Ksanthoudakis, two other vets – Adamandia Roumeli and Nikoleta Filippou – assisted in the life-saving op.

The local animal protection society in Greece has now taken the poor pooch under its wing and he is recovering.

Meanwhile, police are aware of the animal’s injuries and are hunting the former owner who nearly robbed the dog of its life.