On January 11, a black and white dog named Sarge was found abandoned on the street with a broken leg and a gunshot wound to his head.
A man discovered Sarge lying in a snow bank and initially thought the dog was dead. Upon the discovery, he called his wife and remained with the 40-pound dog until help could arrive. Trooper Weesner and Deputy Schiavo arrived on scene and took the dog to the Four Seasons Animal Hospital where he was treated for his wounds. Sarge was suffering from hypothermia, was unable to walk, had a broken elbow, and a bullet wound to the head.
Sarge was placed under the care of Sarah Erickson at the Northwood Animal Hospital. Just four days after being admitted, Sarge was up and walking. His caregivers are calling his recovery nothing short of a miracle.
“From the minute the police picked him up, he was kissing their faces, wagging his tail, even though he must have been in excruciating pain,” Erickson said. “This dog is the most fantastic patient of them all. [Helping Sarge] drew our whole community together, but it’s had a huge ripple effect. It’s spread beyond us.”
Sarge was brought to the University of Wisconsin veterinary center. Veterinarians there are working on setting his broken elbow with a plate and screws. The bullet to his head, however, will remain there for the time being. Upon closer examination, vets discovered that the bullet traveled to Sarge’s spine. As of now, the bullet remains between his neck and chest cavity.
Police are currently investigating the case as no suspects have been traced. Sarge’s caregivers and authorities believe that the broken leg was intentional.
In an interview with TV 6, Trooper Weesner was quoted as saying, “We have some evidence from the scene. We have a shell casing that I recovered from the scene, which we’re going to process and see if we can determine, maybe a fingerprint. And we have some tire tracks, so if we do develop a suspect we have a couple things we can look at. We do know that the weapon was a .45. I’m hoping to get information and develop a suspect and make an arrest on this, because this, I think, it’s a 30-year felony.”
Erickson is focusing on getting Sarge into a forever home and is working towards seeking justice. “We are offering a $250 reward for information in the conviction of the person that did this to him,” she said.
Erickson created a Facebook page calling on people to assist with Sarge’s medical bills. “His leg is badly broken and he is going to need to have it surgically repaired at UW Madison. We are looking at over $3,000 for the surgery, in addition to the vet bills that we have already incurred,” she wrote on the page.
Sarge currently resides in the UW veterinary center, where Erickson said the staff and students have fallen in love with him.
