Pity the unter doesn't have the same compassion for the deet.....

[Guest guest]

AUMSVILLE, Ore. - A dog found in the mountains east of Salem with a

bullet in its jaw and little meat on its bones has a chance to

survive.

 

Phyllis Morris, a supervisor at the recently opened Marion County Dog

Control and Shelter, said the injured pit bull — nicknamed " Bullet " —

survived a month, maybe two, without supplied food or medical

attention. She said the dog has gained some weight since it was

brought to the shelter last week, but it's still 20 pounds

underweight and needs surgery to have the bullet removed.

 

The dog was rescued by Lonna Chase of Lyons, who was hunting deer

near Gates when she came across the malnourished dog.

 

" It was roaming around and making weird sounds — I thought because it

had a sinus infection. But he was very friendly, " Chase said. " He was

so skinny, and he wasn't vicious at all. I definitely knew I couldn't

just leave him up there. "

 

She tried to lure it into the truck bed with " about a half-pound of

jerky. " The dog, however, didn't have the strength to jump, so she

threw her hunting jacket over the dog in case it tried to bite.

 

Chase took the dog home to Lyons, where she cleaned him up before

driving him to the shelter. A veterinarian who happened to be there

ordered an X-ray after feeling something in the dog's jaw.

 

" It was when he was looking at the X-rays that he found the bullet

lodged in the dog's jaw, " Morris said. " It's the diameter of a nickel

and surrounded by bone fragment. It's just a miracle this dog

survived, and we think he deserves a special home. "

 

Morris and the staff speculate that someone intentionally shot the

dog through the eye.

 

" Because of the directionality, we figured he had to have been shot

on purpose, probably with a handgun, " Morris said. " The shot came

from above and points down. We suppose it could have been a hunter in

a tree and that the bullet was a stray, but it really doesn't look

that way to us. "

 

Morris said the bullet remains in the dog's jaw, and bone fragments

litter the tissue around the site. Morris said the eye can't be

saved, but the socket and his sinus cavity can be repaired.

 

" What we're looking at is how to get him the surgery he needs, "

Morris said. " We don't have the funds to pay for the surgery, so

we're hoping to either find someone who will rescue or adopt him and

give him the surgery he needs, or find a vet who might donate

services. "