A dog found shot and his muzzle duct taped shut will soon have a new home with the man who rescued him from the side of the road.
Cowlitz County PUD worker Dylan Schulda plans to adopt the roughly 2-year-old dog discovered in a ditch on the side of Spirit Lake Memorial Highway Nov. 2 near Mount St. Helens, said Cowlitz County Humane Society Executive Director Darren Ullmann.
Schulda discovered what experts believe is a blond golden retriever, weak, lying in the ditch with his muzzle duct taped while on a job.
The worker cut through the tape and brought him to the Cowlitz County Humane Society in Longview, Ullmann said.
X-rays at the shelter revealed the black spot on the retriever’s forehead was a bullet hole, which fragmented when it hit his skull, nicking his right eye and lodging in his jawline, he added.
The ordeal has led to the dog’s name: Trooper.
“He has handled this whole situation like a trooper,” Ullmann said, “and the name has now stuck.”
Ullmann said the Humane Society passed on the investigation to Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office, who are working to find who injured Trooper, who he described as a docile sweetheart that loves every person and animal he meets.
Ullmann said the shelter routinely sees examples of neglect where animals do not have enough food or water, or are injured by, for instance, a car when they are abandoned, but they never see such premeditated abuses.
“This was a very planned, deliberate act,” he said. “That’s what makes this one so heinous.”
The Humane Society reports the dog was found wearing a leather collar attached to a green Seattle Mariners leash.
To submit a tip about the incident, call 360-577-3092 or visit the sheriff’s office web page at www.co.cowlitz.wa.us.
While Trooper has a new home, the shelter is at capacity with dogs, Ullmann added, and is looking for those triggered by Trooper’s story, to help others in need.
