Heroic Dog Recovers After Being Shot While Protecting Owners During Break In

March 20, 2017

Katelyn Buck

Blue, an 8-year-old pit bull, is one heroic dog! When two armed men barged into the West Philadelphia home of Nina Teller and Leroy Bucahan in February, their brave pup came to the rescue.

“I told Blue to get after the guy,” Buchanan told Penn Vet. “He locked onto the guy’s leg and that’s when he fired his gun.”

The home intruders took off – leaving the brave pit bull with a gruesome gunshot wound. “It was pretty scary and I was shaken up,” said Teller. “But I was worried about Blue. He was bleeding a lot. We were scared for him.”

Teller stayed with the police to give her statement. A worried Buchanan and his loyal four-legged friend Blue were rushed to Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital via cop car.

With internal damage from the bullet wounds, Blue needed emergency surgery. “With gunshot wounds, sometimes multiple injuries can happen because it’s such a high-energy trauma,” said Dr. Michael Mison, Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery, who helped with the pit bull’s surgery. Fortunately for Blue, this wasn’t the case. The bullet left the dog with a punctured lung lobe so it was removed. Other than the lobe, there were no other signs of critical damage.

The lung lobe removal was a “relatively manageable issue to deal with” for the vets. And luckily for Blue, the removal of the lung lobe will not negatively affect Blue’s life in the long-run.

“Pit bulls definitely have a will to live. They’re hearty, and so they tend to bounce back really well,” said Dr. Mison. The pup is certainly resilient. Merely 24 hours after the surgery, Blue was up and moving and eating with no problem. Blue returned home days later to his overwhelmingly grateful owners.

“They told us we were eligible for a program to help with the costs,” said Teller. “It was really nice of them to do that for Blue. We’re incredibly thankful. We really didn’t have that kind of money.”

“Blue was shot trying to protect his family during a home invasion,” said Sally Powell, Director of Operations for Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital. “Our Charitable Care program allowed this ‘hero dog’ to return to a family that loves him dearly and is forever grateful for his protection.”

Written By: Teddy

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