Someone cut off Phoenix's teeth so she couldn't fight back.

Phoenix is an estimated one-and-a-half-year-old puppy found buried in trash at a homeless encampment in Holly Springs earlier this month. She was starving when a family discovered her, with severe anemia, bone infections, and wounds across her face. Rescuers at Longleaf Animal Rescue in Hillsborough believe she spent months being used as a bait dog in an illegal dog-fighting operation.

Bait dogs are used to train fighting dogs, and they are often deliberately made defenseless first. Phoenix's teeth were not worn down. They were severed. Whoever did this wanted her unable to resist.

She is alive. She will need surgery on a severely infected toe this week, and additional work on her face before she can breathe properly. She will not be ready for adoption for at least two months.

And whoever did this is still out there.

We are calling on Wake County Animal Services, the Wake County Sheriff's Office, and the North Carolina Attorney General to launch a full investigation into the dog-fighting operation believed responsible for Phoenix's injuries and to bring criminal charges.

We are also calling on the North Carolina General Assembly to pass legislation restricting the listing of pets online for free. As Mary Lucas of Longleaf Animal Rescue put it: "If you put a dog out there for free, this could be the consequence." North Carolina ranks third in the country for shelter pets euthanized, and animal cruelty is a primary driver.

Phoenix fought to survive. Sign this petition to demand that North Carolina fight for her.