'Just touching the dog hurt it' | Malnourished, injured dog dumped in cage that was covered in feces at Manassas animal clinic, police say

MANASSAS, Va. — Police are searching for the person who left a severely emaciated dog in a cage outside a Manassas animal clinic on Monday morning.

The dog, discovered just after 6 a.m. outside the Battlefield Animal Clinic on Sudley Road, was found in such poor condition that staff immediately called animal control. Officers said the dog was in "excruciating pain" and ultimately had to be euthanized.

"The crate was kind of covered in feces. The dog was obviously very malnourished," said Lt. Jonathan Perok with the Prince William County Police Department. "There were many other injuries on the dog besides it being malnourished. It was clearly suffering."

The dog was described as a severely emaciated tan and white adult pitbull/husky-mix in poor health. Staff immediately tried to help th