A Victoria Park man says his pet dog was lucky to survive after apparently being shot in the back with a nail gun yesterday.

The man, identified only as Paul, told Radio 6PR he returned from work yesterday to find his petrified Jack Russell/Pug cross named Hank with a 9cm nail protruding from his back.

“He was sort of crying, shaking and not moving, even when I put food in front of him which is not like him,” he told Morning Show host Gareth Parker.

Camera Icon Paul said Hank was shaking after he was injured. Credit: 6PR/Twitter

“I’ve gone to pick him up and I’ve felt something funny... coming out of his side and it was about a centimetre’s worth of nail hanging out of him.”

The man said he rushed Hank to the vets, who told him the nail had missed his pet’s spine by only millimetres.

Alarmingly, Paul said vets also confirmed a nail stuck so deep into Hank’s body was “something which could not happen accidentally”.

Camera Icon The 9cm nail was embedded in Hank’s back. Credit: RSPCA

The man said he had yet to find anyone to come forward and claim responsibility for the incident.

The RSPCA is investigating to determine whether Hank’s injuries were from a deliberate act of cruelty or a workplace accident.

While Hank is recovering well, Paul said he feared what else the culprit may be capable of if the act was found to be deliberate.

Camera Icon The nail in Hank’s back. Credit: 6PR/Twitter

“It’s just anger now really, the fact that someone’s walking round that has the capacity to be shooting a small dog with a nail gun,” he said.

“(Hank has) a beautiful temperament, he wouldn’t hurt a soul.

“If this person has the capacity to do what they’ve done, what else could they do? I think it’s terrible.”

While “cautious” Hank was yet to eat after his ordeal, Paul said he was expected to make a full recovery.