DeKalb puppy shot but survives

By April Hunt

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

DeKalb County police are searching for the person who nearly shot the face off of a puppy and left it for dead near Lithonia Wednesday.

Kids saw the wounded pit-bull mix wandering around Tarrytown Lane, a rural stretch of road north of the Panola Mountain Conservation Park, and called the county Animal Services, said Investigator Kevin Hearst. When the field officer arrived, the injured puppy was friendly enough to be picked up and taken to the county shelter for treatment.

The puppy had been shot once in the face. The bullet entered above the dog's right eye, traveled through the nasal passages and out through his left eye.

"It looks awful, but he is just so sweet," Hearst said of the black-and-white pup, estimated to be between eight and 10 months old. "He would just love on you all day."

Animal control officers dubbed the dog Winchester, based on the gunshot wound. Winchester received his first surgery Thursday morning, but did not stay at the county shelter on Camp Road near Decatur for long.

A rescue coordinator at the shelter contacted Noah's Ark, a group in South Carolina that provides emergency medical and surgical care to abused animals. A representative drove to DeKalb on New Year's Eve, to bring back Winchester for specialty surgery to reconstruct his nasal passages, Hearst said.

Meanwhile, investigators are hoping someone comes forward with information about who shot the puppy. Hearst said the county's animal cruelty unit often sees such cases, where an owner drives to a remote area to shoot and dump their pets.

What makes Winchester special is that he survived.

"He is a great, great dog," Hearst said. "We are hoping someone heard something and we can find out who did this to him."

Anyone with information can call DeKalb's animal services department at 404-294-2996.