GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A dog that was left to suffer for days with brutal chemical burns is in need of your help.

Kate Pounders found Waco about two weeks ago. When she saw him, she said, she was heartbroken.

“I asked him to send me a picture of it and the second I got the picture, my stomach dropped. I mean, I instantly felt sick to my stomach,” said Pounders, the owner of Katie’s K9s, an animal rescue in Grand Rapids.

Pounders said a friend contacted her earlier this month about a dog that needed help. Pounders soon rescued Waco from a campground in Holland with severe burns on nearly half of his back. She said the vet believes the burns were from a meth lab chemical spill and left untreated for about a month.

“When I first got Waco, the wounds on his back, he had sticks and dirt inside the wounds,” she said. “They instantly said it was the worst chemical burns that they had ever seen on a dog.”

“Nobody did anything,” she added. “Nobody stepped up for him. Nobody tried to help him. That’s I think the hardest part for me, is anybody can step up and do something.”

Waco, believed to be about 1 year old, is now on the road to recovery.

“He’s just the happiest dog now. He loves to play with other dogs. He loves to cuddle,” Pounders said.

Waco. (Courtesy Katie Pounders)

She said she needs help with medical bills.

“The vet that I’m working with, we’re looking at about $10,000, maybe a little higher,” Pounders said.

She’s hoping that anyone who can will donate to give Waco a better life.

“You can step up and you can help them. You don’t have to be a rescue. You don’t have to be a professional to make a difference,” Pounders said.

You can donate toward Waco’s recovery through GoFundMe.