'Sweet dog' shot five times in Chester
CHESTER, Pa. (WPVI) -- A dog that is known to everyone in a Chester neighborhood trying to recover after being shot five times.
The dog, known as Frank, is a stray eight-month-old mixed breed terrier that was often seen roaming the streets of Chester.
Neighbors who lived along Johnson Street all know him.
"We used to feed him all the time. We'd go to the store and buy him something to eat, human food or dog food. But yeah, it was the hood dog. We loved it," said Saleem Trader.
That's why no one understands how anyone would want to hurt the dog. He was shot last month at close range.
"We heard several shots, like rapid-fire shots - 'bang, bang, bang.' We came outside and the dog was bleeding everywhere," said Trader.
Neighbors called 911 and among the first on the scene was Justice Rescue Humane Officer Russell Harper. He said that Frank, despite his injuries, was still wagging his tail and licked Harper's face.
"He's just a sweet, sweet dog. So at that point we rushed him to Keystone Emergency Veterinary Hospital and they went into immediate surgery with him," Harper said.
Frank was on the operating table at Keystone for hours as surgeons removed hollow point bullets.
"His stomach had been ruptured and two areas of his small intestine had been ruptured. So he was initially stabilized and he went into a quite extensive emergency surgery to stop the bleeding," said Dr. Kimberly Russell.
"We were scared post-operatively about how he was going to do because of the injuries that he had," said emergency nurse Amanda Beltran.
Frank was doing well and was just as loving as ever on Wednesday. But with the likelihood of at least one more surgery, Frank is not out of the woods just yet.
"He has been through multiple surgeries already and the bill's going to be over $20,000 by the time we are done," Harper said.
Meanwhile, if you know anything about the shooting, Chester Police want to hear from you.
For more information on how to help Frank, contact Keystone at KeystoneVeter.com
