Puppy survives after being hit by bullet in Salem shooting

By Web Staff

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    SALEM, Oregon (KPTV) — A little puppy in Salem was caught in the crossfire of a shooting and her foster owner says she wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for the police officers who saved her.

Back in May, police say someone in a car fired several shots at a gas station near Northeast Clay and Cypress Street. Officers say the group inside that car crashed, then ran away, and still haven’t been found.

The bullets hit several cars. Including one that had a dog and her three puppies in it. One of them was Rogue. Officers rushed the animals to the hospital, two of them died, but the mom and Rogue survived.

Toshia Stenger works at Salem Oregon Animal Rehabilitation, where Rogue was taken and is now the puppy’s foster mom. For weeks she’s worked on repairing her left paw, which was hit by a bullet. Stenger says Rogue is now 13 and a half weeks old and is full of life and energy. She now wants to find the officers who rescued the dogs and thank them.

“They not only saved her life, they just gave her a second chance. The officers don’t ever get to see a lot of their success stories so to let them know the good they’ve done,” Stenger said.

She added the dogs belonged to a man living in his car who couldn’t afford to take them to the hospital, that’s why the officers did it. Stenger says Rogue’s mom is also recovering and was reunited with other puppies she has. If you’re wondering, Rogue isn’t up for adoption just yet.

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