A deaf woman returned home to find her deaf dog acting lethargic and stumbling around the front yard of her Satsuma, Alabama home. She rushed him to the vet and discovered he had been mortally wounded by a gunshot.
Tabitha Venable saved her dog Si, a Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Cur, from euthanasia as a puppy two years ago, but emergency surgery could not save her dog this time, according to WKRG-TV.
"They were about to put to sleep, because he was deaf. And I told her I wanted to see him, and he probably needed a deaf mom," Venable told WKRG-TV about meeting the 8-week-old pup at a shelter. "So, we were paired up. He was a beautiful dog. I had to keep him."
The vet pulled a .22 caliber slug out of the dog. The still-at-large shooter will likely face a felony animal cruelty charge.
"I don't feel safe," Venable said, signing her responses. "If somebody shot my dog, it could happen to me. I can't hear a gunshot."
Venable started a GoFundMe page, entitled "Justice for Si," to raise reward money for anyone who can lead to the arrest of her dog's shooter. She already far exceeded her goal of $600.
"I can honestly say, that he was my best friend. The fact that someone would take him from me, in the one place he felt most safe, our own yard, is just so heartbreaking to me and also, so disturbing," Venable wrote on the charitable page. "The individual who done this, need to understand the heartache that they have caused. They need to be held responsible for their actions."
The Alabama woman lost her hearing at age four. She had taught Si to understand sign language so they could communicate.
