It’s becoming all too familiar of story in the Peace Region.
Dogs and even a horse have been shot in recent months. Each circumstance is slightly different, but the result is the same – a family pet is left fighting for its life, or worse.
One such incident occurred on Sunday afternoon on Road 279 north of Fort St. John.
“The dog was shot in the neck with a low caliber gun,” said Corporal Jodi Shelkie of the Fort St. John RCMP. “He’s still alive.”
RCMP responded to the call on Wednesday morning, though the incident occurred on Sunday during the day. Information was gathered from the complainant over the phone, Shelkie explained.
“They think the dog is going to live,” she said.
She wasn’t sure what kind of dog it was.
The incident occurred on a public road, not on someone’s property, said Shelkie.
“Nobody has any suspicions and nobody saw anything,” she said.
Earlier this month, a horse was shot on a dead-end road north of Fort St. John
Lynette Kitt’s husband heard a vehicle pull into the driveway, then he heard a gun shot before the dark-coloured SUV sped away.
“It was all very fast, very surreal, because our horses are located between our driveway and our house,” Kitt told the Alaska Highway News at the time.
When Kitt’s husband checked the situation out, he discovered that their beloved horse, Rocket, had been shot.
Rocket had also been shot in the neck.
“It’s only a very fine line between where it would’ve been a fatal shot,” Kitt said.
Again, Kitt wasn’t sure why anyone would have any reason to shoot their family horse.
While Rocket and the dog shot on Sunday both survived, a four-year-old husky shot in a driveway off the Rose Prairie Road on May 24, wasn’t quite as lucky.
This dog passed away from its injuries after sustaining two gunshots.
In January, there were three dogs shot just off the Montney Highway.
Pam Mercanti found a dead dog lying beside the highway on Jan. 20. She quickly noticed a bullet hole on the dog.
The one-year-old Chesapeake Bay retriever, Copper, belonged to Tawnie Fehr. The dog had gone missing the day before.
A couple of days later, Mercanti discovered that her own nine-year-old German Shepherd had gone missing.
They found Rudy shortly thereafter and had found that he had been shot as well.
Shelkie advises pet owners to keep their dogs on their own properties, though she acknowledges that with dogs being shot on individual properties, it’s not a perfect system.
“It’s all fine and dandy to keep it (your pet) safe in your front yard, but when they’re shooting them in your front yard, that doesn’t really help,” said Shelkie.
She noted that there is not much information on the most recent canine shooting victim. Shelkie said the RCMP is asking for the public’s assistance in the location and identification of potential suspects.
She encourages people to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, or online at www.crimestoppersnebc.ca.
