Our giant baby boy Scout was shot in an act of human cruelty and stupidity. Thursday night our two dogs were in their yard minding their own business. We live in an apartment complex and our neighbor also has access to the yard and we share a main entryway. Someone left the gate open and both of our boys got out. I was vacuuming and the night was going as usual until I went to let the boys back in. It was dark so I didn't see anything wrong with Scout at first, all I noticed was the gate was open and I thought it was strange. As soon as he stepped inside the house I knew something was horribly wrong, he limped in so hard he almost fell flat to the floor. My husband and I got him into the kitchen and we almost lost it. He had been shot. In the chest. The sight and the smell was overwhelming. We called 911 and the police and a vet ambulance came to pick him up and make a report. He was rushed to the nearest 24/7 vet hospital and we just had to wait. The next morning we got the phone call that he was going to make it and he was lucky. The bullet went through his right shoulder and traveled diagonally missing everything internal before exiting the left ribs. We were told he would need an amputation because the shoulder was shattered beyond repair or he would have to be put down. I knew my scout was tough because he had a rough life before we got him and he had survived the parvovirus already without even missing a beat. The surgery happened Saturday morning and he had some complications unforeseen. The shoulder was shattered worse than they had thought and he had so much swelling it was hard to piece it back together. He also needed a blood transfusion and his temperature dropped dramatically during the surgery so they decided to keep him until Monday night until they were sure he was ok to go. That was yesterday and today is his first full day home. He is the tough as nails dog I always thought he was, and again he hasn't missed a beat. It's hard keeping him from being playful. It's obvious no one told him he was just shot, had massive surgery, and has over 100 staples in him. 

The police office handling his case told me she has never seen a dog survive a gunshot like what he had and she is coming by this week to visit and get a picture to show everyone at the station. The dog that can survive anything. They are also still looking for the person/people who did this to him. The police think it was a teenage gang that just popped up out of nowhere a few streets down. All we know so far is that they were driving a small white car and both taillights weren't working. They are doing everything they can to catch the horrible person/people who did this.

P.S. If anyone has any tips on how to keep my new tripawd and his brother dog separated with the LEAST amount of anxiety and crying, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. Neither of them seem to notice how hurt Scout is right now and they keep crying and crying because I wont let them play (and they can play real rough). The vet said Scout needs to keep his anxiety and blood pressure down because it is causing the site to weep.