In late August, Laura Forma spotted an unusual-looking dog trotting down a street near Houston, Texas. While the dog’s body appeared normal, his head had swollen to be about three times the size it should be.
Forma tried offering him food, but he didn’t come to get it. Instead, the dog disappeared into a gated housing complex.
“By the time I went in there and talked to the guard, I couldn’t find him,” Forma said.
When Forma finished work later that day, she hurried back to search for the dog, along with a couple volunteers, Tom Heller and Rob Acuna Jr. They eventually found him hiding in a storage unit in front of an apartment complex, and managed to safely catch him in a trap.
The dog, whom they named Gus, turned out to have a shoelace tied around his neck — it was so tight that it had caused his head and neck to swell and bloat.
When the vet team did an X-ray, they also discovered that he had 28 pellets lodged in his body — someone had shot him multiple times.
“They are pretty much on the right side of his body,” Barbosa said. “I don’t know how it happened … was he held down? Was he tied up and [had] somebody shooting at him? Who knows.”
Gus’ injuries were so bad, the vets weren’t initially sure if he’d survive — and everyone could see that Gus was in a great deal of pain.
The vet team worked hard to save Gus’ life by operating on his injuries — and Gus, who’s estimated to be only about 8 months old, managed to pull through.
When Gus was stable enough to leave the hospital, he went to live with Marina Harrison, a foster carer for Houston K-911 Rescue. While Gus’ recovery has been a slow one, Harrison has enjoyed seeing improvements in him every day.
“He was a little nervous at first, but he became more confident pretty quickly,” Harrison told The Dodo. “He gives me a few tail wags here and there, he’s eating well. He likes to steal the other dogs’ beds when he gets the chance, so he’s got a little bit of personality coming out, which is really nice to see.”
Gus will need several more weeks to fully recover, but he’ll eventually be up for adoption.
“I saw him over the weekend and he’s doing great,” Forma said. “He doesn’t even act like anything was wrong with him. He’s super loving, and he just covered us with kisses and hugs. He’s looking for a home, and he’s going to make a great dog.”