Shot Dozens of Times: Puppy Used as Target Practice Makes Full Recovery, But Needs a Home

When they saw the stray puppy on the road as they traveled from Beirut, Amal Andari and her friend — a volunteer with Animals Lebanon — had no idea the lesson in resilience the tiny animal would convey.

Concerned for the animal’s well-being in the summer heat, the two pulled over to give the puppy some water; but — considering strays aren’t uncommon — they never expected to see the evidence of horrendous abuse.

“We saw a hole in her head,” Andari told The Dodo, to whom she provided pictures of the spontaneous encounter — which indeed show a gaping abrasion tinged with dirt and dried blood.

puppy
Image: Animals Lebanon.

“We stopped and walked down to her,” she continued. “She was a little bit fearful, but we called her, and she came, and she was wagging her tail. She approached us, but slowly, and we gave her some water.”

Hoping for insight into how the small dog obtained such a serious injury, the two women spoke with a man nearby and asked if he knew what had happened.

“He told me he didn’t know. ‘Maybe a dog attacked her,’” Andari explained.

Neither woman felt the size and nature of the wound could have resulted from a simple dog fight, but, regardless, the gaping injury clearly demanded immediate, professional care — so they loaded the traumatized puppy into their car and headed for a veterinarian in Beirut.

But another distressing surprise awaited them: X-rays revealed the puppy had been shot — not just once — but dozens, if not hundreds, of times.

puppy
Image: Animals Lebanon.

“There were so many pellets,” lamented Andari, referring to the images of the dog’s skeleton replete with a seemingly impossible number of bright white polka dots — pellets from an unknown weapon. “We think that a bunch of teenagers had ‘fun’ shooting her.”

puppy
Image: Animals Lebanon.

The Dodo reports:

“The vet decided not to take the pellets out since they were superficial, and it might cause more harm than good. But the puppy needed to go on antibiotics and her wounds needed to be regularly cleaned.

“The puppy, whom they named Bondok, had been shot in one eye, and this had blinded her. On top of everything else, she also had a bad case of parvovirus, a viral disease that can be life-threatening without treatment.”

puppy
Image: Animals Lebanon.

With problems compounding problems, Andari opined, the vet “told us that there was only a 25 percent chance that she will live.”

Nonetheless, the animal advocates felt the effort would be worthwhile — they had to give the puppy a chance to truly live.

After four days in critical condition and a full week recovering at the vet’s office, Andari’s friend was able to take Bondok as a foster pet until a permanent, compassionate, caring home can be found.

puppy
Image: Animals Lebanon.

Despite having served as a soft target for grievous cruelty, Bondok made remarkable progress. In fact, the young pup recovered so well, she gives her human foster mom quite the run for the money.

puppy
Image: Animals Lebanon.

“She’s hyperactive,” Andari asserted of Bondok. “She always wants to play. She plays with two small dogs, and the dogs are sometimes annoyed by her because she has a lot of energy. She’s unbelievable — this dog.”

Bondok still needs a safe forever home — and human companions whose energy matches the intrepid puppy’s apparently endless supply. Interested dog lovers can contact Animals Lebanon for more information on Bondok and other animals awaiting homes — and Andari emphasized to the Dodo applicants do not have to live in Lebanon to be considered.

You can also donate to help alleviate the cost of Bondok’s treatment, here.

Since the two animal advocates found her, Bondok has been full of surprises — managing a miracle recovery and maintaining a big smile and wagging tail — proving cats might not be the only animals blessed with proverbial multiple lives, after all.

 

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