Polly's Story

This is the story of Polly, a female Border Collie mix. This photo was taken at the vet clinic before she was taken in for some dental work and a spay, or so we thought. It turned out she had been shot in the face when she was a puppy!

We took Polly in from bylaw at 1 year old.  She had been with bylaw since she was six months old and it was unclear how long Polly survived as a stray before she was picked up.

When she came to the shelter, she was very head shy and did not like her face touched, or to have a collar or leash put on her.  We summed this up to being a stray and not trained.

Upon inspection of her mouth, we noticed that some teeth looked broken and she had a small scab under her chin where the broken teeth were.  We thought maybe she had been kicked by a cow or hit, causing a tooth to abscess which would need to be removed.  We booked the surgery for 2 weeks later.

Meanwhile, we received a call from someone who wanted to adopt a dog with Polly's profile.  The woman was a senior who just wanted a companion; we though this would be great for Polly!  She would love some one-on-one attention, especially after her long life in kennels. The woman that adopted Polly decided to have her spayed at the same time as the dental surgery, which we were thrilled about.

Surgery Day

The veterinarians went about their normal procedures and performed Polly's spay first.  Upon reviewing x-rays, they found a bullet lodged in her jaw.  It was shattered and had been there for quite some time which explained why her teeth were shattered and her jaw was abscessed.  After 4 hours of surgery, the last bullet fragment was removed.  She woke up a little sore, but much happier in the long run!  The vet explained that someone had layed her down and shot her through the top of her snout, the bullet travelled through to the bottom jaw and lodged there, where it stayed for close to a year! 

Polly was left to die, but she pushed on and fought to live.  She now lives happily in a home where she is pampered and spoiled - we think she is one dog who truly has earned it!