STARK COUNTY, Ohio — A dog that was found in a rural area in Stark County Tuesday with bullet fragments in his lower jawbone had his wounds dressed by a veterinarian and was picked up by the sheriff’s office Wednesday.
The German Shepherd was found running near Dueber Avenue and Gracemont Street by someone on their way to the nearby landfill, according to the Stark County Sheriff’s Office and the Soehnlen Veterinary Clinic.
The dog was brought to the clinic, where Dr. Mike Sparling sedated him and dressed the wounds, said Dr. David Soehnlen. An x-ray revealed about 10 small bullet fragments in the dog’s lower jaw.
It’s believed the dog was shot in the face, causing the injury, said Major CJ Stantz with the Stark County Sheriff’s Office.
But, with a little antibiotic, the dog is expected to be fine, Soehnlen said.
"From everything we see, the dog will make a full recovery, and doesn't even realize it was injured,” Stantz said.
Because the dog was shot, the sheriff’s office picked the dog up from the clinic and they are conducting an investigation into how this happened.
The dog was neutered and microchipped, but the vet clinic was unable to determine the dog’s owner.
If the owner is not found, the dog will be adopted out through the sheriff’s dog warden office, Stantz said.
Soehnlen said the dog is friendly, a little hyper, and “eats like nothing ever happened.”
