Dog Tied Down and Shot by BB Gun Over 100 Times at Close Range in North Carolina: Officials

Stock photo of police tape. (Carl Ballou/Shutterstock)

A dog is recovering after being tied down and shot 100 times with a BB gun in North Carolina, according to local reports. Police are now looking for a suspect in the case.

The dog, named Brownie, was shot dozens of times before it was left in a ditch, WBTV reported. A good Samaritan rescued the animal and took it to the vet before performing surgery to remove the BBs shot into its body and face.

Christie Fries and her mom, Janet Lott, the two who rescued the dog, were able to send it back to its owner, Edith Pritchard.

Pritchard told the station she usually lets her 7-year-old Jack Russell mix run around in her neighborhood and the dog will normally come back home.

“Someway or another he wandered away from the neighborhood,” said Pritchard.

When the dog was dropped into a ditch, Lott saw the animal as she drove past and rescued it.

“Brownie got shot by a bb gun multiple times. Someone shot him in his eyes, ears, neck, and chest. My mother and stepfather was driving to my house and it was trapped in the snow. He couldn’t even move. Ms. Pritchard is an elderly lady that lives on a fixed income. She lost one dog name Petey the same day that a good samaritan took Brownie to the vet. He needs a cage outside so he can go outside when he wants to. We also want to offer a reward for the arrest of the horrible person that did this to Brownie,” according to a GoFundMe for the woman.

Pritchard said she cannot believe someone capable of such violence lives in her community.

“I couldn’t believe that anybody could put that many small bullets in a dog,” said Pritchard, adding that the dog doesn’t respond when she calls Brownie’s name. She believes the animal is now deaf. “He was always a happy dog coming to meet me at the door,” she said, according to the Charlotte Observer.

The Burke County Sheriff’s Office said Animal Control is now investigating the case. No suspects are in custody.

“You need to be in jail and rot there,” said Fries of the suspect. “To hold a dog down and shoot it in its eyes... that’s uncalled for.”

“I want to know why they are so evil that they could do an animal like this,” added Pritchard.

Pritchard said she allowed her other dog, a 6-year-old Chihuahua named Petey, to go out at the same time as Brownie. Petey also died, but A Better Life Animal Rescue President Gwen Hood said it’s believed the dog got into something poisonous, according to The Associated Press. They were both allowed outside while unsupervised.

Anyone with information about the case can call the Burke County Sheriff’s Office.

What to Do if Animal Is Abused?

The Humane Society said that “most reported animal cruelty comes in the form of neglect” and less is direct violence.

It notes, “Neglect, or a failure to provide basic needs for an animal, makes up the vast majority of cruelty cases that animal control officers respond to.”

“Neglect often includes hoarding, lack of shelter or veterinary care, tethering and abandonment, as well as other forms of abuse,” the organization said.

To report abuse, it adds, “Call your local animal control agency as soon as possible or dial 9-1-1 if you’re unfamiliar with local organizations. If you make a report of alleged animal cruelty, the responding agency is required to investigate.”