Casey Viles with her fox terrier cross, Rubble, at their Solway home. PHOTO/KAREN COLTMAN
KAREN COLTMAN
[email protected]
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A Masterton woman is dealing with a more than $600 veterinary bill after the shooting of her dog overnight on Sunday, August 2.
Casey Viles said she thinks her 14-month-old fox terrier cross, Rubble, was shot around midnight, but the injury wasn’t discovered until the next morning when her children saw blood coming out of a small hole in his left foreleg.
The dog has the run of the backyard in Harley Street, Solway, and sleeps in the laundry in his basket. It was normal for him to run around a bit at night but his barking at 11.45pm that night was prolonged so Viles got up to investigate. He started up again but then settled. She went back to bed but did notice he started yelping.
“Rubble was quiet all morning, so I picked him up and the kids saw blood coming from his leg,” she said.
“What I saw was a bullet wound.”
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She took him to South Wairarapa Veterinary Services where he was x-rayed and it was confirmed he had been shot. The vet removed the bullet.
Police are investigating it as an animal cruelty incident, and a policeman told Viles the bullet looked like it was fired from a slug gun.
“It was such a horrible thing to do and my kids were upset,” she said. “I’m just thankful the people that did this to my dog didn’t shoot him in the head.
“It really is horrible behaviour. Rubble is such a loving dog and doesn’t deserve this abuse.”
Viles was dealing with a $618 vet bill for Rubble’s sedation, x-rays and medication, which was likely to climb due to further medicinal needs and checkups. She has set up a ‘givealittle’ page which by Sunday had reached $160.
If additional money was raised it would be donated to the SPCA in Rubble’s name to raise awareness around cruelty to animals.
- Givealittle.co.nz/cause/cruel-act-injuries-rubble.
A dog barking & barking – unchecked by its owners – in the middle of the night – in an urban situation – is going to drive some people to do unreasonable things. I get up immediately when my dogs bark. It’s usually caused by a hedgehog. My response to her dog barking however – would have been to stand on her doorstep knocking & banging on her door in my dressing gown. If I’m awake – then she’s going to be too.