‘Harmless’ Atlas dies
A KANGAL dog died after being shot by hunters on Sunday, despite the efforts of a vet to treat him for dozens of wounds.
The Anatolian shepherd, named Atlas, was blasted with a shotgun near Gemikonağı on Sunday — on a day when hunting was not legal and in an area where hunting is banned — and discovered badly wounded by owner Ersan Özçelik, who rushed him to Güzelyurt’s Ay-Vet clinic.
Eighty-six pellets were surgically removed from Atlas’s chest and neck by vet Aytaç İnik, who tended the critically injured dog until he died of a cerebral haemorrhage on Monday morning.
“Atlas was harmless,” said Mr Özçelik, who added that although he believed his pet had been deliberately targeted from a distance of approximately 20 metres, he had chosen not to report the incident to police.
“He had been wandering around freely in the area where he was shot for around three years and no-one ever complained about him,” said Mr Özçelik. “Whoever did this cannot be human.” Mr İnik said: “We have managed to save dogs that were shot accidentally or on purpose, but this was the worst case I have seen, as the head injuries were very severe.”
Margaret Ray, chairman of Kyrenia Animal Rescue, told Cyprus Today: “Whoever was responsible for this should be arrested as there are far too many cases of people getting away with animal cruelty.”