A 5-year-old Lhasa apso named Peaches is recovering from being shot by a pellet gun Saturday morning at her home in the 2000 block of Derwood Drive in the Paradise Valley neighborhood of La Cañada Flintridge.
“It was between 11 and 11:45 a.m. on Saturday,” said Robin Gehr, Peaches’ owner.
Gehr knows the time frame because she had taken her cat to the veterinarian for shots and was surprised how quickly they were done.
“I came home and found [Peaches] on the porch, bleeding and in shock,” she said.
Someone had shot the 10 ½-pound dog in the back right leg with a pellet-type gun and the metal was still lodged there.
Peaches was wrapped in a towel and rushed to the vet. She had lost a lot of blood. After a doctor put a cast on the dog’s leg, Gehr and her husband Bill made an appointment with a surgeon to talk about nerve damage and what to do about the metal that remains in the leg.
The surgeon told the Gehrs that they will have to take a wait-and-see approach to Peaches’ wound. The concern is that, if the pellet is removed, it may cause nerve damage. But if it is allowed to stay in her leg, that may lead to infection.
Gehr is very upset about the shooting and the ramifications to her “sweet” dog. Peaches is handling the injury in stride, she almost appears to carry her red cast with pride.
“I don’t know who would do this to a dog,” Gehr said. “It is so cruel.”
The Gehrs have lived in the neighborhood for 43 years and have never had any trouble with neighbors.
“Peaches, or her brother Buster, have never bitten anyone,” she said.
The dogs and cats are very much a part of the Gehr household. The Gehrs are heartbroken that someone would do this to a beloved member of their family.
A report was filed with the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station. Det. Rodger Burt said that the person/persons who shot the dog could face animal cruelty charges.
“I don’t know if it was an accident or not,” Burt said.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Burt at the CV Sheriff’s Station at (818) 248-3464.
