JEFFERSON COUNTY. Colo. (KDVR) — Investigators with Jefferson County Animal Control are asking the public for help in finding the owners of a small chihuahua, found possibly abandoned at a campsite in southwest Jefferson County.

“When we arrived we located an older male, white and brown chihuahua that had a lot of tumors covering the entirety of his body,” Erica Duplan, an Animal Control Officer with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.

Duplan said they received the call on Thursday reporting a dog possibly dumped at Kelsey Campground.

“We do believe he may have been abandoned there at the campground on August 2,” Duplan said.

She said she has nicknamed the dog, who was found with no collar or microchip, “Little Dog.”

Tumors completely cover his body to the point where it was difficult to handle him because she could tell how much pain he was in, she said.

“The amount of tumors on the dog are very severe and very bad. It’s the worst I’ve seen in the 6 years I have worked here,” Duplan said.

Investigators are going through the list of different vehicles and names of people who were logged into the campground during the timeframe that the dog was found there.

“We want to know why the dog was left there and we want to remind people, if you can’t care for your pet, take it to a vet or shelter so we can care for it,” Duplan said.

They believe the dog was dumped because of how remote the area is and because he could hardly walk, so traveling would have been difficult.

“If he were to walk he wouldn’t be able to get very far, that’s why we believe he was dumped there,” Duplan said.

If the owners are found, they could be facing a series of charges.

“They could be facing abonnement and cruelty charges, and the severity of the dog, the tumors, it seems it progressed so much the dog hasn’t had medical care in a long time and that would be something we could be pursuing neglect charges with,” Duplan said.

The dog is currently being treated by a vet, but Duplan said his condition is so severe that they are not sure if he will survive.

“It was unlikely he would have survived another few nights,” she said.

If you’d like to help you can make a donation to the Foothills Animal Shelter Officer.

Anyone who recognizes this dog or may have seen something in the area during the time frame he was allegedly abandoned is asked to contact Jeffco Animal Control at 303-271-5070 or email animal-control@jeffco.us.