Investigators found "Sox" with a rubber band around his muzzle, clamping his mouth shut

LARGO - "Sox", a 9-month-old poodle mix, uses a doggie door and jumps for his dinner.

Just a couple months ago, he couldn't even open his mouth.

"He had a hole, literally, going across the top of his nose. We called it his blowhole," SPCA of Tampa Bay CEO Martha Boden explained. "He was breathing out of the top of his nose just like he was out of his nostrils."

Investigators found "Sox" with a rubber band around his muzzle, clamping his mouth shut. His owner, Tieesha Cogdell, is charged with animal cruelty. According to detectives, her children alerted their teacher about the dog.

"Said they thought their dog was slowly dying in the bathroom," Boden said.

The rubber band had likely been there for a week, digging into his bone and tissue.

"He could've been starving to death," explained Dr. Rizal Lopez. "I'd never seen a wound quite of that nature."

Unable to eat or drink then, Sox has a new owner, Lori Chambers, who is virtually unable to talk about it all now.

"Sorry," she cried. "I do this every time I tell this story."

No one knew if Sox would make it, but caretakers point to the pup's can-do spirit.

"It was all about giving him a chance and he took it," Dr. Lopez said.

Chambers adopted Sox about a week ago. Today, he still has a mark around his snout, but he also has a healthy appetite and even knows how to use a doggie door.

"The fact that there's a human being out there that would do something like that to an animal makes me sad," Chambers said.  "He wants to be loved. He shows us that everyday."

Cogdell will face a judge for her charges on February 27.