The two year old dog got out of his Northeast El Paso yard and was missing for about 2 hours before he was found, bleeding badly, with a gunshot wound to his face.

"Ruger" will recover but, his family faced a $1,300 vet bill they couldn't afford. Then, members of the local firearms community stepped in and raised the needed money. Owner, Randy Evans told KDBC:

"If you look at him, I guess he's a big dog and he might be a little intimidating. But he's a puppy. He really is just a puppy. He has no interest in hurting anybody." "Everyone in my family, we're firearms advocates. We don't hold this against firearms. It's definitely not the firearm that did it, it's just the guy that was scared of a little puppy that did it, you know?"

Evans added that whoever shot Ruger may have feared for their child or loved one so, he's not angry. He'd like to know exactly what happened though. EPPD is investigating.

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