Dog shot, left to die
Niceville, FL (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008
County: Okaloosa

Disposition: Open

Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!

A dog shot, paralyzed and left to die in a creek on the Eglin Air Force Base reservation is fighting for its life at a veterinary clinic.

Cooter, a Boston terrier, was rescued by five young men who were at a creek off Ranger Camp Road on Tuesday afternoon after they saw the injured dog lying in the water under a low-hanging bush.

"He was shaking really badly," said 20-year-old Scott Fish of Shalimar. "Just from looking at him, the big hole in his side, we already knew he'd been shot."

The men wrapped the dog in a towel, placed him in a truck and took him to Niceville Animal Clinic. Veterinarian Jenny Fortune X-rayed the dog and found his spine had been crushed by the bullet that entered his left haunch and went out through his upper right side.

He has no feeling or use of his hind legs. Fortune said Cooter also has fresh puncture wounds around his neck from a dog fight.

"We've got a dog that can't ever walk again, but it's possible that if he can urinate and defecate again then he could live with someone who could take care of a dog with a cart," she said.

The dog was found in Lighter Knot Creek, known to locals as Tire Wash Creek or Drive-Thru Creek because a small range road runs through it.

When Fortune traced Cooter's owner through his microchip, she learned he belonged to a family on Eglin Air Force Base until a few weeks ago. The mother is about to deploy and her husband will be taking the children to live with his mother. That's why they had given Cooter to someone in his squadron.

References

• « FL State Animal Cruelty Map

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