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Not only is providing quality care for your pet our top priority, but providing this care for the animals in our community is our duty!

HIGH CALIBER CARE GUNSHOT CAT AIDED BY ANIMAL LOVERS

Holly Edwards
Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Though he has a long incision on each side of his body and his green eyes appear frightened as he peers from his protective plastic collar, the black and white cat aptly named Bullet is eager for affection. Bullet has come a long way since he was found two weeks ago crouched in a tree on Falling Star Lane in Saugus , his hair matted with blood. Firefighters rushed to the scene, pulled Bullet to safety, and arranged for him to be transported to the Castaic Animal Shelter.

A veterinary technician at the center examined Bullet's wounds - gaping holes in each side of his body - and determined he had probably been shot, said Sgt. Jerry White of the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control.

Bullet was given penicillin and pain killers, but the animal control center does not have the resources to pay for the costly surgeries Bullet needed to get well. That's when two local animal lovers stepped in and saved Bullet's life. ``I just felt like an injustice had been done to him and someone didn't value his life,'' said Charla Provencio of Saugus , a shelter volunteer who has temporarily adopted Bullet. ``Someone had to do something for him.''
Provencio found out about the injured cat through her friend Karen Ross, a Saugus dog trainer who works with the Castaic animal control center.
Three days after he was discovered in a tree, Bullet landed in the Valencia veterinary office of Dr. B. Grewal.

``When they brought the kitty in, he was in a very precarious Condition and was very dehydrated,'' Grewal said. ``The bullet wound was probably five or six days old. He was infected very badly. In another day or two, he would have been gone.''Grewal said he believes Bullet was shot with a .22-caliber rifle. Fortunately, Grewal said, the bullet missed the cat's spine and all of his vital organs as it passed through his abdomen.

After two surgeries, Bullet has made a remarkable recovery.
``In a week or so, he'll be a happy cat again,'' Grewal said. ``Cats are very hardy and he has made an amazing recovery.'' Provencio said she plans to put Bullet up for adoption when he gets well, adding that he had apparently been someone's pet.

``He has no fleas, he's wearing a collar, he's been neutered and his claws are trimmed,'' she said. ``And someone spent some time with him to make him as sweet as he is.''While bullet wounds are found in cats and dogs in the area just a few times a year, pellet gun wounds are being found more frequently in pets throughout the city, Grewal said.

``I had one dog in here someone found with about 40 pellet gun wounds,'' he said. ``I see a lot of pellet gun wounds here, mostly caused by kids I think.'' Ross added that neglected and abused animals are discovered in the city every week. ``Here we see animals that are beaten and starved primarily,'' she said. ``And it happens everywhere, in all kinds of neighborhoods. The area Bullet was found is pretty upscale.''

Provencio and Ross are seeking the community's help in paying Bullet's medical bills. Anyone who would like to make a donation is asked to send it to Ross, in care of Bullet the Cat, at

P.O. Box 6570 , Woodland Hills , CA , 91365-6570 .

Daily News of Los Angeles (CA)
January 3, 2001
Section: News
Edition: SACrop
Page: SC1

CANINE WITH WEEKS-OLD BULLET WOUND TO UNDERGO SURGERY

Diana Sevanian
Signal Staff Writer

A German shepherd stray suffering a bullet wound was rescued by a Newhall resident Sunday and will undergo orthopedic surgery today. Pauline Harte , a Signal columnist and community activist, rescued the female dog.

"I received a call... telling me that the dog was laying on its side outside the Valencia Open Bible Church ," she said. Harte said she was moved to tears when she saw the dog in pain and obviously malnourished. "She was suffering yet so pretty- with absolutely no meat on her bones," Harte said. "I assumed she had been on the streets awhile and had been hit by a car."

Harte said it took almost two hours for her and helpful churchgoers to get the dog into the back of her car so she could take it to the pet hospital. "She was growling and kept resisting us, you could tell she had been abused," Harte said. "After someone ran over to Valencia Veterinary Hospital and got a muzzle, we were finally able to get her in the car." When asked what name she has given the stray, Harte replied, "She was found outside a church. Her name is Grace."

Harte immediately called Dr. Baljit Grewal, her veterinarian at Animal Medical Center in Valencia, to notify him she would be bringing in the wounded animal. Once at Grewal's office, the dog underwent a thorough examination, during which a several weeks-old bullet wound was identified. "I was shocked to hear this," Harte said. "I could not believe that anyone would do such a terrible thing. If they'd do it to a dog, they'd do it to a person." Compounding Harte's dismay was the realization that the dog had been lingering in this state for some time. "Surely someone saw her limping on the road over the last few weeks but no one helped her," Harte said. "She was ignored."

Despite the dog's mistreatment, Harte said she is still sweet and loving. "The moment we got to the veterinarian's office, she laid her head on my lap and rested," Harte said. "She was panting, dehydrated and in pain, but she knew we would take care of her." Thus far, Dr. Grewal said the dog's treatment has included supportive therapy, including antibiotics and pain medication. He said today's surgical procedure will extract the bullet and set its fractured leg bone and knee cap. Barring any complications, the dog should make a good recovery, he said.

A devoted veterinarian, Grewal said he has a hard time knowing that some people harm innocent creatures intentionally. "It is heartbreaking- mind-boggling- to know that someone could treat an animal this way," Grewal said. So far, Harte and her husband Duane have spent about $250 on the dog's emergency care- but those bills may escalate to several thousand dollars by the time the dog is rehabilitated. "She has been through hell and I am not going to abandon her," Harte said. "She is wagging her tail and is still trusting of people. She wants to live."

An animal rescue agency and humane organization have offered to contribute some money to help pay the bills, but any other donations would be greatly appreciated, Harte said. "She is such a sweet and beautiful dog- and I am going to be very careful about who eventually adopts her. She deserves a better life." Harte praised churchgoers Gil Dominguez, Lynda Chalmers and Mike Woods for helping her to restrain and move the dog, and Sarah Rock for alerting her to the dog's plight.

Anyone interested in contributing to the dog's care should contact Animal Medical Center , 661-255-5555. Mail donations to 25848 McBean Parkway. , Valencia , 91355 (indicate "For stray shepherd.") Visa and Mastercard are also accepted via telephone.