A missing pit bully puppy tortured, shot and left to die.
Athena was eventually found, and now, the owner and the Caldwell County Animal Shelter say the situation is just another example of ongoing pet abuse in the area.
“They told me that she had been shot and I just fell to the ground because I couldn’t even fathom somebody did that to my dog.”
That’s what owner Lexy Stallins said when she found out about her dog, Athena.
Stallins let her pet go outside after a bath, and then, she vanished.
Athena was found a day later with a cable tied around her back legs and a gunshot wound on her spine, paralyzing her.
“She is my child,” said Stallins. “That is my child and I love her with everything and I will do everything for her.”
Leaders with the Caldwell County Animal Shelter say the healing process is emotional to watch. They brought Athena to the vet and got in touch with Stallins, who had been looking for her missing dog.
“I told her I said, ‘Let me get pictures of her before you come down here to make sure she’s your dog’ and, at that point, she said, ‘Yes, that’s Athena and she started crying,’ ” said Jamie Whalen, the shelter director with Caldwell County Animal Shelter.
Right now, the torture of a cat or dog where the pet is seriously injured or results in death is a class D felony in Kentucky, which can be one to five years in prison.
Caldwell County Animal Shelter says pet abuse is present in the community.
“It’s very real and more people need to know about what’s going on in their own community cause it’s not just Caldwell, it’s everywhere,” Whalen said.
Stallins says she and Athena are receiving an outpouring of support from the community.
“She has so many people behind her and rooting for her to have a good life and I’m just really blessed that she just has those people,” Stallins said.
Stallins is raising money for a wheelchair for Athena.
