YOUNG COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL) — Found abandoned, starved, and emaciated.

“It’s like a walking skeleton,” Olney PD Chief Dan Birbeck said.

Olney Police Department found Nugget close to death, and a medical exam showed Nugget ate clothes trying to survive. Police also found three dog graves at the house in the 400 block of South Grand.

“She weighed just over 17 pounds,” Nugget’s foster family Amanda Schupback said.

But after three weeks, Nugget’s recovery is going well with her foster family.

Nugget spent about two days at the Humane Society of Young County before board member Amanda Schupback stepped up to foster her.

“It’s been seamless since then, so we come up once a week to get our weight checked to make sure we’re still on the right track to a healthy nugget!” Schupbach said.

Schupbach keeps Nugget on a strict diet with puppy food and has brought the dog’s weight to 32 pounds in just three weeks.

“It’s been [a] blessing to see her go from literally skin and bones to almost healthy,” Schupbach said. “So we’re not quite there yet, but we’re well on our way.”

While Nugget is certainly in a better place, her journey has not been without its hardships.

“I take it personally. You know, we get into this job to protect those that can’t protect themselves and, whether that’s children or animals,” Birbeck said. “We definitely want to hold those people that do these types of things accountable.”

As Nugget works on her recovery, Birbeck seeks justice for Nugget.

According to Birbeck, 28-year-old Oscar Nuncio was charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals and has since bonded out of jail.