Brazil dog survives being shot 5 times
‘MIRACLE’: Shelter group to put canine ‘victim’ of violence up for adoption after it recovers
ADOG that was shot five times during a firefight in a Rio slum is recovering from surgery and will soon be put up for adoption, an animal shelter says.
Violence is on the increase in the city’s shantytowns and animals, like people, sometimes get caught in the crossfire.
The dog is nicknamed Netinho Coragem, or “little brave one” in Portuguese. He was hit during a gunbattle between rival gangs in northern Rio on July 11.
The shelter group, known as Suipa by its Portuguese acronym, said it rescued the black-coated mutt after a call from residents.
“It’s a miracle he is alive,” said Joao Wassita, the group’s head veterinarian, said on Tuesday. “Most dogs die on the spot before we get there.”
Netinho, who will be offered for adoption after recovering, was the second dog in less than a month to survive the daily and increasing shootouts here ahead of the Aug 5 to Aug 21 Olympic Games.
The dog suffered damage to his femur, which required surgery and the placing of screws in its bones.
Veterinarians at the shelter said
who is suffering from a bullet wound to his front leg, in Brazil recently. (Inset)
was shot five times during a firefight in a Rio slum. they had seen a sharp increase in recent months, especially in slums where pets and strays roam.
According to an app recently launched by Amnesty International, in the week that Netinho was shot, there were 265 shootouts, with at least 24 people killed.
Sheik, a copper-colored mutt bandaged up in a crate next to Netinho, was also a victim of violence. The dog was shot in the Jacarezinho slum June 14 and brought into the shelter in a wheelbarrow. The bullet wound in Sheik’s front leg was so severe that veterinarians might have to amputate the limb.
The shelter has much experience treating animals.
“As I’m giving you this interview, we may get a call asking us to rescue another animal hit by a bullet,” Wassita said as he stroked the brown mane of a 12-year-old horse named Empezao that survived a rifle shot in 2014.
Suipa even treated a tortoise once. It had a bullet lodged in its hind legs and required an adapted wheelchair to walk.
The 73-year-old animal shelter, which cares for more than 4,500 dogs, 600 cats, dozens of horses and other animals, is facing financial difficulties. It has over US$4 million (RM16 million) debt and says donations have plummeted amid Brazil’s worst recession since the 1930s. AP
OUT SUB
British nuclear submarine HMS ‘Ambush’ making an unscheduled stop in Gibraltar on Wednesday after sustaining damage to its conning tower after hitting a vessel. Britain said the collision occurred while the submarine was submerged and conducting training. AFP pic