A stray dog is recovering today after having her mouth cruelly tied shut with a barbed wire muzzle.

Shocked locals first noticed the street dog earlier this month walking around a village in Prachinburi, eastern Thailand, with the tight wire wrapped around her mouth.

She is believed to have had the sharp material put on her face by a heartless neighbour living in the area.

A group of residents tried to approach the terrified pooch but she ran away - only to be seen again around two weeks later last Thursday (July 26).

Incredibly, the resilient Aspin dog had survived despite appearing not to have been able to eat drink anything for a couple of weeks.

This time, residents called for help and volunteers cooperating with livestock officers arrived and planned to shot tranquilizers on the white mutt in order to safely rescue her.

But the injured dog managed to escape and immediately ran off to the cassava field, where she was hiding through the evening.

The team hid in nearby bushes for several hours before eventually shooting tranquilizer darts and capturing the dog in a cage while she was leaving the field, looking for food.

Footage shows how volunteers had to cut the steel wire carefully, which caused critical damages on her nose and her skin after many days of bleeding and infection.

The dog, estimated to be two years old, was brought to the animal hospital for initial checkups and treated for the wound on the skin around her nose and mouth.

Livestock officer Kongsak Buddawong said: ''We think that somebody put the wire on her mouth to stop her from barking or stop her from eating their food.

''The wire was tied firmly so it's not possible that it was an accident caused by the dog getting tangled in fencing.

''Her wounds are better and she'll be with us until we're sure that she's fully recovered.

''The volunteers are now looking for an owner who is willing to take care of her.''

A stray dog is recovering today after having her mouth cruelly tied shut with a barbed wire muzzle.

Shocked locals first noticed the street dog earlier this month walking around a village in Prachinburi, eastern Thailand, with the tight wire wrapped around her mouth.

She is believed to have had the sharp material put on her face by a heartless neighbour living in the area.

A group of residents tried to approach the terrified pooch but she ran away - only to be seen again around two weeks later last Thursday (26/07).

Incredibly, the resilient Aspin dog had survived despite appearing not to have been able to eat drink anything for a couple weeks.

This time, residents called for help and volunteers cooperating with livestock officers arrived and planned to shot tranquilizers on the white mutt in order to safely rescue her.

But the injured dog managed to escape and immediately ran off to the cassava field, where she was hiding through the evening.

The team hid in nearby bushes for several hours before eventually shooting tranquilizer darts and capturing the dog in a cage while she was leaving the field, looking for food.

Footage shows how volunteers had to cut the steel wire carefully, which caused critical damages on her nose and her skin after many days of bleeding and infection.

The dog, estimated to be two years old, was brought to the animal hospital for initial checkups and treated for the wound on the skin around her nose and mouth.

Livestock officer Kongsak Buddawong said: ''We think that somebody put the wire on her mouth to stop her from barking or stop her from eating their food.

''The wire was tied firmly so it's not possible that it was an accident caused by the dog getting tangled in fencing.

''Her wounds are better and she'll be with us until we're sure that she's fully recovered.

''The volunteers are now looking for an owner who is willing to take care of her.''