Clearfield County nonprofit working to help dog that was shot 3 times

IRVONA, Pa. (WTAJ)– Animals Matter of Clearfield County is working to rehabilitate an Australian Shepard dog they say was found lying along a road, having been shot 3 times last Saturday.

On Saturday, President of Animals Matter Heather Hoover said she was called by a Fed Ex driver who said that two dogs were lying where Eds Road meets Ansonville Road in Irvona. One of the dogs was dead while the other was badly injured, hardly able to walk.

Hoover then alerted her family and team and they got to work.

Below you can find photos of the dog and the condition it was in. Some of the photos are graphic and viewer discretion is advised:

“My cousin actually drove through here and took the deceased one off of the road and grabbed the other one and took it home,” Hoover said. “We had transport from another woman from Curwensville. She grabbed him and drove to Metzgar.”

Once at Metzgar Animal Hospital in State College, Hoover says veterinarians told her that the dog’s x-rays showed 3 bullets inside of him. His right front leg had been broken from one of the bullets and is now in need of amputation.

“He’s stable now,” Hoover said. “His anemia numbers are coming back up and after four days they finally got him to eat so he’s getting more stable for surgery.”

Hoover and Vice President of Animals Matter Shawn Nevling went Tuesday to get the owners of the dogs to sign over the surviving one to them. They confronted them about how this could’ve happened but didn’t learn much.

“Unfortunately they’re telling us that they don’t know who shot the dogs,” Nevling said. “We’re still looking for those answers.”

Hoover says that they’ve been in contact with State Police since Saturday and have been sharing all of the information that they’ve gathered.

As for the surviving dog, it will be a long, slow recovery process until he can be put in a foster home. They did learn one thing from the owners, the surviving dog’s name is Denny Boy.

“I actually asked Metzgar that today and they said he’s a very sweet boy,” Hoover said. “Very sweet boy. He’s going to make somebody a good pet.”

So far Hoover says that the veterinary bills have totaled over $3,800. With Denny Boy having to stay at the hospital longer and get his leg amputated they could be receiving another $3,000 bill by next week.

Hoover says if anyone is willing to donate they can visit the Animals Matter of Clearfield County Facebook page.