Dog duct-taped and shot in the head in Cowlitz County adopted by rescuer

A dog that PUD crews in Cowlitz County found with a gunshot wound to the head and a duct-taped mouth on Nov. 2 now has a forever home with one of the men who rescued him.

“We’ve got to adopt this dog, this can’t be the end of his story,” Dylan Shulda said he told his wife after he and his coworkers found the one-year-old dog. Shulda was part of a PUD crew that was doing maintenance in the area of Mt. Saint Helens when they spotted the dog.

“It picked its head up and looked at us so we went and got over it and that was when we noticed its muzzle had been taped,” he said.

Shulda said the tape was so tight he had to use a knife so the dog they called Trooper could open his mouth.

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PHOTOS: Dog shot in Cowlitz County adopted

”We didn’t remove the tape and just cut it open along its jawline so it was able to drink some water and give it a little more comfort,” he said.

Shulda said Trooper began to perk up and that was when he noticed the gunshot wound.

“We noticed that there was like a flash burn on the top of his head from a close-range gunshot wound and that there was indeed a hole in his skull,” Shulda said.

Trooper was taken to the Cowlitz Humane Society for treatment. Ex-rays show Trooper had been shot execution style. The bullet fragmented part of its way down behind his eye socket and jaw.

“It’s still there. The vet had said that at this point the dog was fighting so much with the existing infection and everything else that had happened to it, it was better just to leave it,” Shulda said.

Shulda and his family officially adopted Trooper on Friday.

“He went around and he looked like a politician he went to every single person there and got his head scratched and wanted to just interact with everybody. Just such a friendly, loving dog,” Shulda said.

As for the person or people responsible for hurting Trooper, they still have not been caught. If you have any information call the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office.

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