Earlier this week a Gainesville man and his dog stumbled upon a terrible sight... a badly injured dog

Dogs are known as "man's best friend." but one dog is in need of a best friend himself.

When walking into work Monday morning Kirk Eppenstein and his dog Doogie came across a startling sight. lying next to the Alachua County Humane Society was a severely injured dog, whimpering and in a lot of pain. Eppenstein-- who is the executive director of the Humane Society-- believes the dog was probably hit by a car and somehow crawled across the road and snuggled up against the building.

The dog, now called "Auto", was wearing no tag so Eppenstein brought him straight to Alachua County Animal Services. as the week went on, no owner came to claim auto, and his injuries were getting worse. one of his hind legs suffered major nerve damage and the other needed major surgery, and the longer they wait, it may even need to be amputated.

eppenstein and his co workers at the Humane Society have grown rather attached to Auto, and hope that after his surgery they can find him a loving home.

Animal Services has been working with Auto's nerve damaged leg and say he is starting to use it again. but until he has the surgery, the injury on his other leg continues to get worse.

To learn more about auto and all the other animals up for adoption at the Alachua County Humane Society click on the links section on our website, WCJB.COM