A dog is fighting for its life after being stabbed all over its body and left to die in one of the worst cases of animal cruelty ever seen in Bermuda.

The 17-year-old keeper of the Pitbull dog said he felt sick to his stomach when he found his pet gasping for breath and barely alive yesterday morning.

The young tan-coloured dog, named Max, had been ruthlessly tied up near its kennel and then attacked from head to foot with a sharp instrument, probably a knife.

His left eye was gauged out and he suffered several serious stab wounds to his head, neck, body and hind legs in the early morning attack in Kings Court in Pembroke.

Max's owner, Joshua Hayward, who lives nearby, said he could think of no reason why anybody would want to hurt his dog.

"Max was conscious and he knew who I was when I got here, but he was breathing very heavy and whimpering and there was blood everywhere,'' said Joshua.

"I have no enemies and he did not deserve this. He is just young -- a pup -- it was just cruelty.

"I can't believe someone would do it. They must know that dogs have feelings.'' Max spent several hours on the operating table at a veterinary surgery yesterday and, for a while, it was touch and go as to whether or not he would make it.

However, last night Government Vet Jonathan Nisbett said he was hopeful the dog would pull through.

He said it was highly likely that more than one person had carried out the vicious assault on the Pitbull and said somebody in the heavily populated area must have heard something.

However, door to door inquiries carried out by Police and the dog wardens have drawn a blank, with everyone claiming to have heard nothing.

Yesterday, the kennel area where Max was kept was heavily blood-stained.

And it appeared the dog had either been placed on top of a wall near his kennel, or dangled over the top of it for some length of time, as a heavy stream of blood had also ran down the other side of the wall.

Dr. Nisbett appealed for people to come forward and give information, anonymously if they wished, about the attack, which he believed happened between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m..

He said: "This is definitely the worst case of deliberate cruelty I have ever come across. It's unimaginable.

"I have come across some brutal things, but this is really nasty.

"He has been stabbed several times with some kind of sharp instrument, including in the eye. As a result, he has lost an eye and lost a lot of blood.

Wounded dog fights for life after `very vicious' attack "You cannot begin to think why somebody would want to do this. Whether they had a grudge against the dog, or its owner, we don't know. There may have been no reason.'' Dr. Nisbett said that the dog was apparently fairly friendly, so the attacker would have been able to approach it.

"But once the attack started, there is no way the dog would have stayed quiet,'' he added. "This was a very vicious attack and there would have been a lot of noise from the dog.

"Somebody somewhere heard something, but nobody is talking. This is their neighbourhood, if anybody has information they should tell us. They should not just sit back.'' Some of Joshua's relatives live just feet away from where the dog was attacked, but yesterday they told The Royal Gazette that they had slept through the whole incident and heard nothing.

But a member of the public has been so appalled by the attack, last night they offered a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the attackers. The money will be passed on to CrimeStoppers and used specifically for this case.

Police Animal Protection Officer Yvonne Ricca also appealed for people to come foward.

She said: "We don't know how long the attack took, but we know from his injuries and the amount of blood he lost that he must have suffered.

"It must have lasted a while. I am sure he was tortured.'' Anyone with information about the attack should call Police on 295-0011, or call CrimeStoppers, where they can give information anonymously, on 1-800-623-8477.