Eric, an English bull terrier, was shot with more than 50 lead pellets at point-blank range, leaving some lodged in his bone.

The horrifying attack was launched on Eric just before March 2015 – when his current owner Liz Haslam began the long process of adopting him from Turkey.

Liz, who runs Beds for Bullies dog rehoming centre, discovered the pellets only after she took him to the vets when the inside of his mouth swelled up.

The 48-year-old thought he had an abscess, but when the vets carried out an X-ray they were horrified to discover the lead lodged next to his brain.

The poor pooch is now almost blind, which is thought to have resulted from the shooting.

Liz, who lives in Barnham, Norfolk, said: “His life in Turkey must have been truly horrific – I try not to think about it.

“He must have taken the full blast by the way the pellets have hit his face.

“It is a wonder it didn’t kill him straight away or he didn’t die from septicaemia from the filthy conditions he was living in.

“It breaks my heart to think what he’s been through but I can’t allow that to tug on my heart strings because I have to get on with looking after him.”

The mum-of-one first heard about Eric in early 2015 when a friend contacted her and mentioned him.

Determined to give him a good home, she raised the £2,500 she needed to get him all his jabs and bring him to the UK.

Since arriving, he has been given the best life possible but he is now almost completely blind.

And vets can’t even remove the pellets because the operation would be too extensive.

But Liz has spent thousands on operations for Eric in a bid to make sure the adorable animal enjoys his final few years.