Stray dog in Denver is recovering at the vet after he was shot in the face

DENVER — For months, Denver neighbors tried to provide food and water to a stray dog. But the efforts to catch him ramped up recently when people reported that the Australian shepherd had been shot in the face.

The dog is now recovering at the vet.

Candy Jones said some people called him Solo Vino. She simply called him Baby.

"Since April, May, we've seen this dog," Jones said. "He would come all the time because he would visit with the dog that's in the backyard, like if it was his best friend or something."

The dog had been on the run since April, the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE) confirmed. Denver Animal Protection (DAP) officers have received numerous calls about him from all over the city, the DDPHE said.

Jones' nextdoor neighbor told her that she had recently heard a gunshot gone off, followed by a dog yelping.

"Right away, she thought of the white dog," Jones said.

Shortly afterward, the dog was seen with a bloody mouth and face.

"It was just dripping on his paws and his front legs," Jones said. "It was so sad. I was crying because I'm an animal lover, and I have three dogs on my own. To see this happen to a dog, just really broke my heart."

On Friday, DAP asked the public for help finding the injured dog.

Thanks to quick action from volunteers Sarah Luv-Garcia and Karlee Arguello, the dog was captured hours later and taken to the emergency vet.

Sarah Luv-Garcia

Jones said Luv-Garcia and Arguello set up the trap in her backyard. The dog came sniffing for cheese that was placed in the trap and the door shut behind him.

“I was so excited," Jones said. "It was like I could [finally] sleep because I couldn't sleep. We couldn't sleep at all — me or [my neighbor] or any of us. Couldn’t sleep because we knew how bad he was injured, and so it was just a blessing that these two had caught him, Sarah and Karlee.”

Denver Animal Shelter veterinarian Dr. Patricia Crystal said the dog went to an animal urgent care overnight and received pain medications and antibiotics. When he was brought to the shelter Monday morning, he was bright and alert. But Dr. Crystal said he had bloody saliva coming from his mouth and the right side of his face was swollen.

"We sedated him for his oral exam as he was reactive and painful. We also performed x-rays," the veterinarian said. "We found that he had an approximately 2-centimeter circular wound on the right outer part of his face that communicated with the inside of his mouth. He also had a large wound on the inside of his mouth, located towards the back and associated with the right mandible. The right mandible is also fractured in the same location. Several of his teeth were fractured and removed. I removed two metal pieces from the right lower jaw, and confirmed the removal with x-ray. Our main concern right now is the fracture of the right lower mandible and how well it will heal."

The Denver Animal Shelter said the dog still needs to "get through quite a few hurdles" before he can be placed up for adoption.

'Really broke my heart:' Stray dog in Denver is recovering at the vet after he was shot in the face

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