NORWICH – When Dawn Chrisbacher spotted Maggie, a 4-month-old terrier-retriever puppy on the side of Reservoir Road in the Town of Norwich, the animal was scathed, bleeding and fighting for its life.

Chrisbacher, owner of a gently used clothing store in Norwich called Great Finds by Dawn, said she never expected to play hero on the day she found Maggie (the name she gave the dog). She first spotted the pup when driving her granddaughter to a babysitter near Plymouth Reservoir. Not knowing exactly what she saw near the edge of the road bank, she said she didn’t think much of it at first.

“I caught a glimpse of white out of the corner of my eye,” she explained. “I dropped my granddaughter off at the sitter and pulled over to the side of the road on the way back ... It was a dog that was left to die.”

The pup was badly wounded and underweight, she recalled. Maggie’s ribs were unmistakable and the large gashes on her paws, legs, and underside - evidence of being tossed on the road from a moving vehicle - were bleeding badly. But most terrifying, said Chrisbacher, were the scores of maggots feeding on the open wounds and Maggie’s right eye.

“I didn’t notice it at first,” Chrisbacher said, “but later, I realized that she really smelled like dead, rotting meat.”