A four-month-old boxer pup was found with more than half of its skin missing in the yard of her owner’s Dallas, Texas home, and investigators are furiously attempting to figure out how the gruesome injuries occurred.

According to Dallas Animal Services, the owners found the dog, named Isabella, with between 60 and 70 percent of her skin missing, last Friday. Her injuries run from the base of her neck down to her tail and stretch across most of her belly.

Though Isabella is making a surprising recovery and is now able to eat and drink on her own, veterinarians are still proceeding cautiously because the extent of her injuries are so severe and are at a high risk for infection.

So far, investigators are unsure what exactly caused the injuries, though preliminary examinations suggest that Isabella likely suffered at the hands of a non-human predator, possibly a coyote.

Earlier in the investigation, authorities considered whether the skinning was the result of a human, though they say her injuries do not appear to be consistent with that conclusion. 

Just last month, 11 puppies were found skinned and killed near a park in eastern Pennsylvania.

Dallas Animal Services are continuing their investigation and have sent off forensic evidence to federal agencies for further testing and analysis.

Isabella is currently in the care of the animal care center DFW Rescue Me, which also took care of Justice, a puppy who was doused with lighter fluid and set on fire in a horrifying act of violence that also took place in Texas earlier this year.

Her owners were unable to afford the costly operations needed to help Isabella and so donated her to the group.

While she received initial treatment here, she will be sent to Texas A&M University on Monday for the first of many skin graft surgeries. Already, Isabelle has undergone the painful procedure of removing the dead tissue from her body.

Her doctors ‘remain optimistic’ but her prognosis is ‘guarded due to the amount of skin lost.’

Stephen Willard | Elite.