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Help Nala
This is our girl Nala. Nala is an Akita mix that is about five years old. She is a very friendly, affectionate, and loving dog. Nala's few faults are being an escape artist and the desire to "get to know" kitties. Unfortunately for us these two things came together on May 24th with disastrous results.
Nala is always let out on a rope tie-out due to her enjoyment of running free for hours and going swimming in mucky ponds. Not to mention, it goes without saying, we didn’t want her hit by a car or otherwise hurt. On this particular morning Nala had been outside for about an hour enjoying the morning coolness. I was reading a book when I heard some barking, so went outside to investigate. No sooner was I stepping outside than I heard three soft pops and a yelp that made my heart plunge. I thought surely it couldn’t be Nala, as I had heard her beside the house only a short time ago. Oh, how wrong I was! Our feisty gal had managed to slip out of her collar and go chasing after the neighbor's cats. Apparently, though he knew who's dog it was, the gentleman next door decided it would be more expeditious to simply shoot her instead of coming to get us.
We honestly do respect the right for someone to protect their own animals and property, but we know his actions were not those borne of protecting anything. Our baby was maliciously shot from behind in the left rear hindquarter. Our vet even confirmed that the trajectory of her shot could have only come from behind. To top things off, afterwards this gentleman simply returned to his house after shooting her, obviously not caring one whit for her welfare. Upon being asked later what happened, his story went from "What dog?" to "I shot over her head to scare her." and thence to "I may have shot downwards once and accidentally clipped her" then finally to "I only shot her when she came after me." The overt callousness of this man is what upsets us the most. This "accidental" shot entered her on the left hip and traveled upwards towards her head; it chipped her hip bone, punctured her bladder and shredded her intestines. I simply thank a higher being that I was recently released from a position and was home.
This of course leads to our present dilemma. Nala has survived thus far but only at a great cost, both physically and monetarily. With me scrambling to find a job and my other half being a college student we were already getting ready to pinch pennies when this event unexpectedly happened. Now we are looking at a vet bill that is fast approaching $2,000 and looks to potentially exceed that amount. We are generally rather proud people and don't typically ask for assistance of any kind, but this is far out of our league. We would appreciate any help that those of you reading can give. Whether that be a few kind words, any thoughts or ideas, and though we hate to ask, a few dollars would be most welcome.
Thank you for reading this, and above all, please keep Nala in your thoughts. She still has a very long way to go. We would like to thank Tim Fuller for putting this web page together for us, and the National Exotic Owners and Pet Owners Association (NEOPOA) for providing the webspace.
Sincerely,
Michelle Kott & Robert Hendricks
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Nala at the hospital
Last updated May 31, 2006
Copyright ©2006 by Timothy J. Fuller
All rights reserved.