Meet Stella, the dog.
Stella ran away from home, was shot, leaped off an overpass near Interstate 41 and Shawano Avenue, and landed on the road 30 feet below on March 23 in Howard.
Luckily, someone nearby witnessed her fall and called the police. The village of Howard asked the public for help March 24 to find her owner. Stella was taken to an emergency veterinarian and put under the Wisconsin Humane Society Green Bay Campus care. The vet estimates she is around a year old.
She didn’t have any broken limbs, but the veterinarian found bullet fragments from a gunshot wound, internal bleeding and severe damage to Stella’s lungs and chest, likely from the fall. The humane society doesn’t know how she got shot.
Stella, an Akita husky mix, had to undergo a major open-chest surgery. She received a CT scan and several X-rays, a chest tube for her lungs, and thoracocentesis to remove air from her chest cavity, WHS said.
That was all in just a couple days. Now she is recovering well, the Wisconsin Humane Society said in a Facebook post April 8 to share Stella’s story. Her surgery went well and is now at WHS’ Green Bay campus.
Through it all, she has been sweet, happy and affectionate, giving “face licks and kisses all around,” WHS staff said.
Stella’s family was trying to find her a new home before she ran away and was “absolutely distraught” to find out what happened to her, WHS said in the Facebook post. They ultimately decided to surrender her to the humane society.
“This case was exceptionally unique for us, from the mysteries surrounding her journey as a stray, to the laundry list of ailments that were uncovered, and the complications she overcame in the days that followed,” WHS said.
Stella will stay in WHS’ care as she recovers until she’s ready for a new home. She’s getting pain meds, a warm bed, and much attention from WHS staff in the meantime.
You can donate to WHS to support Stella’s higher-than-average medical bills at www.wihumane.me/SupportStella.
“She has had us absolutely transfixed and captivated from the moment she arrived, and she’ll never know just how many people have been in her corner this whole time,” WHS said.
Contact Benita Mathew at bmathew@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Stella the dog survives gunshot, 30-foot fall from overpass in Howard
Reporting by Benita Mathew, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
