Dallas Dog Shot in Head Recovering Days Later

DFW Rescue Me group paying for dog's medical needs, recovery

In recent years there have seen some ugly examples of animal abuse in North Texas.

One area rescue group is using the name of one of the most infamous such abuses to help other animals recover from similar abuse.

Willow is a female pit bull with a wagging tail and a need to be petted and loved on. It's clear she is a happy dog, even thinking of herself as a lap dog.

On Sunday, Willow crawled up into the lap of Cristin Heilker who's been watching her since Aug. 26. Heilker isn't her owner, rather her foster and will only have her for a few more weeks as a member of the rescue group DFW Rescue Me.

"When I got her she seemed unfazed," Heilker said. "The second she saw me she just came running up to me, [going] 'Oh, love me, pet on me.' It was kind of hard to tell from her personality that anything had happened."

Cruising through Heilker's backyard and getting close to everyone she encounters, it's hard to understand why someone would harm Willow, let alone how. Something veterinarians didn't find out until they started checking her over.

"They didn't really know until they actually got her to the vets for DFW Rescue Me," Heilker said. "And then they ended up seeing this lump on her neck, and when they saw that, they decided to inspect it, cut it open and a little bullet fell out of her neck."

The scar between Willow's eyes is the most obvious sign of abuse. She was shot in the head on Monday and somehow survived. There was hardly any damage, and only some issues remain with her sinuses.

A resident in Dallas called 311 to report Willow bleeding from her nose and mouth. Animal control officers found her and she came waddling over to them. Animal control then got DFW Rescue Me involved.

The rescue group put its "Justice Fund" to use to pay for medical care from veterinarians and found one of its foster volunteers, Heilker, to help her recover.

The Justice Fund is named for Justice the dog, who was set on fire and later died in Dallas in 2012. The fund in Justice's name is now helping similarly abused animals get the care they so desperately need.

"A lot of shelters, they don't have the capacity, they don't have the funds to deal with that kind of thing," Heilker said. "And so DFW Rescue Me takes them in, no matter what the case is, and they get them healthy again and get them into their forever homes."

That's what will happen with Willow in the coming weeks. Heilker and the rescue group will sort through those offering to adopt her and decide the best place for her to live out her days.

"It's a little bit hard to let them go, but it's an amazing feeling to know they went to such a good family," Heilker said.

Now, a dog left for dead gets a new chance at life and some much needed and deserved love.

DFW Rescue Me will hold it's fourth annual "Dinner for Justice" next month at The Highland Dallas, a key fundraising event for the fund. For more information on the group click here. 

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