A very good dog by the name of Lola is at risk of losing her sight after being shot in the face with a low calibre shotgun.
Her human, Kayla Evans, a veterinary nurse in the rural Queensland town of Veradilla, was at home when Lola came up to the house.
“Lola was surprisingly good in hindsight,” Kayla told PEDESTRIAN.TV. “She had a bit of blood on her forehead and running down her nose but it didn’t look that bad with all the fur on her so at first I just assumed she came off second best to a possum or a feral cat.”
Warning: the images below are a bit graphic.
Kayla took Lola, a 18-month-old labrador, to the Animal Welfare League, and it was only when they clipped and cleaned the wounds that they realised it was worse than previously thought.
An x-ray confirmed that Lola had been shot, with around 30 pellets in her skull.
She was rushed into surgery, where surgeons were able to remove seven of the pellets.
“Our biggest concern is her sight in her right eye, but we won’t know much until the swelling goes down,” said Kayla.
The other biggest concern at the moment “is abscess and infection from all the wounds,” added Kayla, “but she is on some very strong antibiotics.”
Lola is lucky to be alive, managing to survive the gunshot thanks to the thickness of her skull.
“In Lola’s case she is alive thanks to the location the shot hit her and the fact the gun was most likely a low caliber shotgun intended for clay target or pigeon shooting (basically shotguns meant to maim and not kill),” explained Kayla. “But even with the low power gun that was likely used if she was shot somewhere softer say in the stomach it would have likely shredded her internal organs so she is a very very lucky little girl for the pellets to have only hit her in the head.”
Kayla initially tried to report the incident to the police, but was told it was an RSCPA matter. (The RSCPA confirmed to P.TV that are were investigating the incident.)
“We have our suspicions [on who shot Lola] based on where she goes every time she gets out,” said Kayla.. “She always goes to the same place, we suspect there may be a dead kangaroo or calf or something in the paddock.”
Lola is now recovering at home, on strong antibiotics to reduce the risk of infection and possible septicemia.
“She’s very active and loves to play but we have definitely noticed a change in her since the incident she’s a lot more withdrawn and timid which she’s never been so hopefully we can teach her to trust again and love people like she used to.”
Get better soon Lola <3.
