It might be hard to imagine feeling grateful if we had our mouths duck-taped shut, got shot in the head and were left for dead.
Having lived these atrocities, one Cowlitz County dog teaches us that there’s still room to give thanks to those who plucked him from the iciest doom.
Wrapping up a job near Mt. St. Helens two weeks ago, utility workers stumbled upon a bundle of fur at the snowy roadside. One of Dylan Shulda’s crew first noticed the dog who was lying in a ditch.
“It lifted its head . . . and was looking at us like, ‘help me’,” Shulda told ABC News Affiliate KATU in Portland. “I couldn’t understand why someone would do that to a dog, why they’d give this dog no chance.”
Shulda quickly cut slits in the duct tape binding the dog’s muzzle allowing him to drink. A wistful tilt of the dog’s bullet-rended head tugged at Shulda’s heart. “I felt connected right away,” Shulda said as he recalled rushing with his crew to get the dog help. “I felt like we had to do something. This couldn’t be the end of the story.”
Staff at the Cowlitz County Humane Society (CCHS) confirmed that the dog had been shot square at the top of his head. The bullet splintered and nicked his eye. Fragments lodged along his jawline. The wounds were inoperable, but not life-threatening.
“It’s probably one of the most shocking things I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” said Darren Ullmann, Director of CCHS. But the dog’s fortunes quickly reversed.“ He went straight from a bathtub to a foster home where he’s received nothing but love and support.” Video shows one of the dog’s foster siblings lovingly licking the bullet wound on the top of the dog’s head.
Last week ago, the battered and abandoned one-year-old blonde retriever got the best news ever: he landed his forever home with his rescuer, Dylan Shulda, and his two Australian shepherds, Echo and Storm. The dog’s new name: Trooper.
“He’s just been amazing,” Shula beamed. “So loving and affectionate even though he’s been through all this horrible stuff.”
Shulda credits the CCHS for Trooper’s remarkable recovery. If he’s strong enough, Trooper may be grand marshal of the Longview, WA, Christmas Parade. Shulda also urged locals to consider adopting one of the 50 dogs waiting for forever homes at CCHS.
Authorities are still searching for whoever heartlessly hound, shot and dumped Trooper the along Spirit Lake Highway. Meanwhile, Troper nestles in the love of Dylan Shulda’s family, including his new canine brothers. The hole in Trooper's head is healing. His life is finally whole.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!