Dog surrounded by barbed wire found in a car at Caves Beach NSW

An ailing dog has been spotted in a parked car ‘lined with barbed wire’ on a popular Australian beach, to furious animal lovers – but police have bizarrely claimed the claimed dog is ‘well cared for’.

The disturbing image was photographed Thursday morning by a local resident in the car park at the southern end of Caves Beach, 90 minutes’ drive north of Sydney.

A man walking past the silver MG hatchback only stopped to look because the dog was so upset it drew attention to the vehicle.

As he got closer, he saw a “visibly distressed” dog, which appeared to be a German Shepherd in the back seat, with barbed wire covering all the windows.

“The windows were all the way open and the dog couldn’t get to the windows because they were covered with barbed wire,” a local woman told the Daily Mail Australia.

The woman, a friend of the man who witnessed the car, said there were no other passengers or driver in it.

The man went to find the phone to alert the police and the local woman, but by the time they returned to the parking lot, the vehicle was gone.

“My friend was very upset by what he found and I was disgusted by what he showed me,” said the local woman, who declined to be named.

“It’s a mess for this little beach town.”

Officers from the Belmont Police Department hurried to the parking lot, but the car had left.

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia on Sunday evening that the owner of the dog was later spoken to, but no arrests were made.

When the police arrived [at the carpark], the vehicle had left the scene; however, after an investigation, the owner of the car was identified and officers from the Tuggerah Lakes Police Department were asked to investigate further,” a police statement said.

Later that day, police spoke to the owner about concerns about the dog.

Officers have checked the dog and confirmed that there are no injuries and that it is well cared for.

“They also received assurances that the wire has been permanently removed from the car.”

The reaction to the photos on social media was outrage.

“That’s the most screwed up thing I’ve seen,” one man said in the local Facebook post.

“What I see is someone desperately trying to control their dog, but has no idea how to do it,” said one woman. “This is terrible behavior.”

“Why the hell would anyone do this? There is no possible reason. I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” one person wrote on reddit.

“Break the window and get the dog out of there. F*** that person.’

Another reddit user pointed out that the implications of barbed wire in a car are worse than it first appears.

“If that car gets into an accident, whoever’s in it is crazy, assuming it has airbags.

“I don’t know the legality of this sort of thing. Is this actually something an owner can do in their own vehicle? It obviously has major implications for safety.

“Their insurance company would of course deny any claim.”

Back on Facebook, a woman wondered if the barbed wire was “a security measure” for a homeless person living outside his car.

“Poor dog,” she added.

‘[That’s] certainly a possibility, but no excuse for cruelty,” one woman commented.

An RSPCA spokesperson told Yahoo that such situations should be reported so they can be investigated for possible animal cruelty.

You should write down the make, model, color and registration number of the car or, if you have your phone nearby, take a picture of it,” a spokesperson told Yahoo.

“If you can, stay with the dog until help arrives and provide updates on the dog’s condition whenever possible.”