Hub cops foot vet bill for dog who ‘took a bullet’ for owner
Boston police officers stepped up for a heroic canine who took a bullet for his master, covering the cost of his surgery when his owner wasn’t able to.
Police officers David Lanteigne and Brian Smith showed up at the scene of a shooting Wednesday night on McLellan Street in Dorchester to find Fellony, a 10-month-old, 90-pound mixed breed, suffering from a gunshot wound. His owner told cops the dog was in front of him and had taken the bullet.
“The dog was in front of his owner and if he wasn’t in front of his owner at the time who knows what would have happened,” Lanteigne said.
“He was limping, and you could tell that he had obvious signs of distress,” Lanteigne said about Fellony during a press conference yesterday. “He was panting, drooling. He was possibly in shock, but he was with it.”
Lanteigne and Smith, along with Sgt. Tommy Brooks, drove the dog and his owner in their cruiser to the MSPCA’s Angell Animal Medical Center, where they learned that the owner was unable to provide payment or credit for the care of his dog.
The bighearted cops then decided to split the costs, using Brooks’ credit card, which included a surgery to repair the dog’s leg.
“It’s just a natural human response to somebody in need and help them out with their family, and dogs are family, and I don’t think they get the credit they deserve sometimes,” Lanteigne said. “The way that I look at it, that dog put himself in front of his owner and took a bullet for him.”
So far the costs have totaled over $2,500, and the officers say they are willing to put down more money for any extra charges associated with the health of the pup, including medication and even physical therapy, if necessary.
“We’re hoping that the dog doesn’t lose his leg,” Lanteigne said.
Lanteigne has a soft spot for dogs since Lilly, his mother’s pit bull, pulled her off the railroad tracks when she had fainted there with a freight train approaching — an act of canine heroism witnessed by the train’s engineer, according to the MSPCA. Lanteigne is the founder of the nonprofit Lilly the Hero Pit Bull, with a Facebook page to raise money for dogs in need.
Fellony’s owner was “shocked” to learn that the officers were volunteering to pay the vet bill, Lanteigne said.
“He definitely wasn’t expecting it,” Lanteigne said. “He reached out to several family members. Unfortunately nowadays people are going through a lot of things to try to put meals on the table, never mind a couple thousand dollars for an unexpected traumatic injury.”