Dog Abandoned Near New York Cemetery with ‘Deeply Infected and Painful’ Cut to His Throat

A dog was abandoned in a New York cemetery with a severe and painful laceration to its neck.

On Nov. 21, a 1-year-old mixed-breed dog was discovered with a “deeply infected and painful laceration to his neck and throat” at 44 Saw Mill River Road near Oakland Cemetery in Yonkers, according to SPCA Westchester.

The dog, now named Frankie, was rushed to a local veterinary hospital to treat the laceration, which was so severe that his underlying tissue could be seen through the wound. Upon arrival, his injuries required a two-hour-long emergency surgery.

“Without proper veterinary care, this sweet dog would have likely succumbed to his injuries,” Shannon Laukhuf, SPCA Westchester’s chief executive officer, said in a press release. “Sadly, Frankie also appeared to be neglected as he was extremely underweight.”

According to SPCA Westchester’s Humane Law Enforcement Unit, nearby cameras captured footage of an individual walking the dog on a leash before dumping him and leaving him to fend for himself.

As part of a joint investigation with the Yonkers Police Department Detective Division, the SPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Unit is asking the public for help locating the person who abandoned Frankie. The NYS Humane Association is also offering a $1,000 reward.

“It’s really an industrial area,” Ernest Lungaro, the director of the SPCA’s told PIX11. “So there’s not a lot of residents living there. It was placed there sometime in the morning, so we don’t have a lot of leads.”

“This one is very unique because we are seeing over the last couple of years a lot more abandoned dogs and cats, but with a severe injury like this, it’s so deep and so long on that throat,” he continued. “The medical team said this dog probably wouldn’t have survived for very long.”

After rescuers brought Frankie to safety, however, the dog recovered nicely at SPCA Westchester and only has a thin scar remaining on his neck from his gruesome injury.

“Frankie is probably one of the happiest, sweetest, energetic guys we have here,” SPCA animal care specialist Tyler Lah shared. “As soon as he came off the van, he was playful, greeting everyone and just happy to be alive.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.  

“You can barely tell by just the scar on his neck,” he added. “Now we’ll do a behavior evaluation so he can be ready for adoption, and he’ll also be vaccinated and neutered so he will be all ready to go and healthy.”