A 12-year-old boy found his family's dog skinned alive and half dead under his west Mobile County home.  The dog, a 3-year-old poodle named Skipper, died at the veterinarian's office after the family took it there, Elizabeth Flott, humane officer for the Mobile Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said Wednesday.

Deputies are investigating the incident at the home in the 3000 block of Busby Road, Flott said.

The dog suffered a "clean, half-moon-shaped" cut across its shoulder blades, according to Flott, who inspected the dog at the vet's office. Its skin had been pulled up to its head, she said.

The dog's rear had been chewed on and mauled by another dog, Flott said. But the cut along its shoulders looked like it had been done with a sharp knife and couldn't have resulted from a collision with a vehicle because the dog had no broken bones, she said.

Family members saw the dog was bleeding slightly, Flott said.  The 12-year-old crawled under the house to retrieve the dog and found it had been skinned.

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