Dog shot by intruder in Metairie, LA
Metairie dog, shot by trespasser, in surgery after outpouring of donations
Southeast Veterinary Specialists is accepting donations for Zeus' surgery; call 504.219.0444 for more information. Anyone with information about the shooting may call the Sheriff's Office investigations bureau at 504.364.5300 or Crimestoppers Inc. at 504.822.1111 or 877.903.7867. Crimestoppers callers need not give their names or testify to earn as much as $2,500 for tips that lead to an indictment.
UPDATE 6/28/2012: They have received all donations needed for the surgery.
A trespasser shot and wounded a dog defending its backyard in Metairie, authorities said Tuesday. Zeus, a 5-year-old Doberman pinscher, was listed in stable condition at Southeast Veterinary Specialists in Metairie.
But owner Henry McCaskill said he is scrambling come up with $3,419 for his pet's surgery. The bullet struck Zeus in the face and came out of its bottom jaw, shattering a few teeth, then lodged in its shoulder.
The incident occurred Monday about 11:30 p.m. at McCaskill's home in the900 block of Wilker Neal Avenue, said Col. John Fortunato, spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. McCaskill said Zeus, an inside dog, had begun barking, usually a request to go out or a signal that someone is lurking nearby, McCaskill said.
"When he does that late at night, I just open the door," said McCaskill, who recalled that Zeus once caught a burglar trying to break into a neighbor's shed and another man who had jumped the fence into the yard.
McCaskill opened the door, and the dog raced into the backyard.
"I heard a gunshot," McCaskill said. "He started yelping. I didn't have anything to protect myself, so I had to get inside and just close the door."
A deputy who arrived at the house told McCaskill he was in the area searching for someone on the nearby railroad tracks, McCaskill said. Fortunato said he had no information that deputies were following a suspect at that time.
McCaskill never saw the gunman who shot his dog and could not give a description to investigators. He and relatives are more concerned with finding a way to pay for Zeus' treatment.
"He's a sweetheart," McCaskill said. "The only thing he ever did was protect his home and his master."
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