A down-on-his luck dog who had his eyes gouged out and was shot with a BB gun has turned into a happy hound thanks to an outpouring of support from animal lovers.

With his socketless eyes sewn shut, Andre the miniature pinscher looks more like a stuffed toy than a real pooch, but his tragic story of abuse and overcoming adversity touched the hearts of so many people that more than $17,000 has been donated to help get his paws back on the ground.

A stray dog has been brought back from the brink of death after being used as target practice and then tied up in a bag and thrown in a dumpster.

Named Andre by his new owner, the scrappy pooch had been shot so many times with a BB gun that his eyes were gouged out and he was left, dumped in a plastic bag, with sewn up empty sockets, reported MyFoxPhoenix.com.

“He must have been in so much pain, his eyes were hanging out of his head,” said Susie Hopkins, who rescued the poor pup and took him from where he was abandoned in Phoenix to Sedona, Arizona. “He’s been so neglected and abused.”