Dog shot and thrown in dumpster; what is her Destiny? - KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather & Sports

Gilmer Police responded to a call of a whimpering dog in a trash dumpster on June 5. What the officer found sickened him: an underweight puppy had been shot and left for dead in the trash.

Now, the dog that has been named Destiny, is recovering and weighs nearly twice as much as she did when she was found abandoned.

SLIDESHOW

Destiny before and after surgery

An employee at C.S.I. in Gilmer heard the whimpering first; Officer Larry Sewell climbed into a dumpster to retrieve the dog.

"She was down in this corner right here is where she was, and of course both lids were up, and she was laying down here in this corner," Officer Swell said, "There was a crate sitting here with a cardboard box around it. I picked her up and let her down in the box as easy as I could. Then I climbed out and got her out and put her in the truck."

The dog was lucky; trash was scheduled to be picked up that day, and no one can say if anyone would have heard the dog before the truck compacted the trash.

Officer Sewell knew the dog was hurt, but didn't know she had been shot.

"When Doctor Nazzal's office opened up, the lieutenant, Mark Case, carried the dog out to her," Sewell added.

"They were trying to kill her, basically, and trying to shoot her in the abdomen. It deflected and then it hit the hip, and then it lodged right here," said Dr. Cherie Nazzal while pointing at an X-ray.

At the Animal Medical and Surgical Hospital Dr. Cherie Nazzal removed more than 20 bone fragments, but will have to do a second surgery if it's possible to safely remove the bullet; It's lodged against her pelvis.

It didn't take long for Dr. Nazzal to name the dog Destiny. The doctor thinks Destiny's hip was shattered when she was thrown into the dumpster, and is now suffering from nerve damage which is causing her to limp on the knuckles of her paw.

They hope splinting her leg will help, but they won't know for a while. Destiny could lose a leg.

"I know people have to put dogs down all the time, but this is wrong to do a dog this way. You know, this is cruelty," Sewell stated.

And that's exactly what the charge will be when they find the perpetrator.

The Animal Medical and Surgical Hospital has a Facebook page with updates about Destiny. They are taking donations to help pay for Destiny's care. Dr' Nazzal says Destiny could be ready for adoption in three weeks.

If they receive more money than they need for Destiny it will be used for future abandoned animal care.

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