THIS is the adorable face of pug cross Ruby who, despite suffering horrific injuries at the hands of her previous owner, has found herself a loving new home and a happy ending to make any animal lover smile.

When Ruby was just eight-weeks-old – then known as ‘Babs’ - she was hit so hard by former owner Lee Michael that a chunk of her jaw was knocked out.

Wirral Globe:
BEFORE: Ruby was found cowering and shaking following the horrific abuse at the hands of former owner Lee Michael.

The RSPCA found her with huddled in the corner of a kennel withdrawn and shaking, her eye and face extremely swollen.

X-rays revealed that a piece of jaw the size of a five-pence piece was missing and there was a suspected fracture to her skull.

Police took the pup and placed her into the RSPCA’s care. She underwent surgery to screw her jaw back together, even though it was feared at first that she would never be able to eat again.

Despite having such a horrendous start to life, Ruby – who will celebrate her first birthday in the coming weeks – has found her happy ending thanks to the RSPCA and veterinary nurse Lauren Harrison, who took her in after instantly falling in love with her.

RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes told the Globe that Lauren – who works at CVets where Ruby was treated – had initially fostered the adorable pup.

“Ruby had to be taken home the first night after she was taken to the bets because she needed round the clock pain relief administering so Lauren took her home. There was almost a squabble between everyone at the vets on who wanted her,” said Inspector Joynes.

“Lauren agreed to foster her from that point – I knew that once Ruby went into any house, she would be there to stay.”

Inspector Joynes was right, with Ruby now officially adopted by Lauren.

34-year-old Lee Michael was jailed for six months in September after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to Babs, and was banned from keeping animals for life.

Wirral Globe:
Happy ending: Ruby with RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes and new owner Lauren Harrison.

He also pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a cat called Larry, resulting in his death.

Inspector Joynes – who investigated the cruelty case - said: “It’s a shame and it still pains me the fact we never found the cat’s body and we couldn’t save him but we have one good thing coming from the case which is Ruby, obviously then she was called Babs.

“She’s made a full recovery. Her jaw has healed a little bit off centred but that’s really the only physical scar that’s left. She was eight-weeks-old then and that life of abuse is now completely behind her.

“I’m absolutely confident that she’s going to live a long happy life.

Wirral Globe:
Lee Michael was jailed for six months after admitting animal cruelty offences.

“She obviously had a horrific broken jaw – it was almost bad enough for her to lose her life. We discussed it because the vet said part of her jaw bone was missing. There was a chance she might never be able to eat again but the vet at CVets did an amazing intricate operation and managed to fix it and now she lives a perfectly normal life.”

Michael - who had previously been jailed for the manslaughter of his two-year-old son when he went by the name Lee Michael Khair - told the court he had an “obsession” with animals and had at one time owned 12 animals at once. 

Wirral Globe:

District Judge Michael Abelson said he was "disturbed" by the things he had heard about Michael and described him as "menacing" and "a danger to animals and the wider public".

Inspector Joynes added: “This is why we do this job to bring the culprits and bring people like Lee Michael to justice but another reason is to get hopefully, like this, where the dog is saved.”

  • If you would like to help the RSPCA, you can text HELP59 to 70099 to give £3.