Beagle's wound angers rescuers

HILTON HEAD ISLAND -- Hilton Head Island resident Siobhan Stolarcyk is a dog-lover who owns a 10-year-old basset hound named Tallulah.

So when a co-worker came to her office saying she saw an injured dog - possibly a basset hound or beagle - during her morning run, Stolarcyk was horrified.

"I immediately got another co-worker to help me find this dog," she said.

Stolarcyk and two colleagues at Meeting Dynamics headed out to where the runner had seen the dog. They circled the area in their car, but soon returned to the office empty-handed.

"I got back to the office and couldn't stop thinking about it," Stolarcyk said. "I wasn't even back for five minutes. I couldn't stand it."

So she and one of her co-workers headed out again. This time they searched on foot.

They found the dog lying in high brush on the side of the road.

"When he was lying there, we couldn't tell how bad he was injured," she said. "The dog was so scared."

The animal didn't move much. But when Stolarcyk put a blanket over him, the dog rushed under her co-worker's car. She eventually coaxed it out with food and water.

Then "we took matters into our own hands," Stolarcyk said. It appeared the dog had a broken leg. So she dropped it off at the office of Dr. Dorian Colorado, Tallulah's veterinarian.

They were surprised when the doctor gave the diagnosis.

"Colorado called back to say, 'Oh yes, we removed the bullet,"' Stolarcyk said.

Apparently, the 1-year-old beagle had been shot in the right hind leg. The type of weapon used is not known, the veterinarian said.

Stolarcyk was stunned.

"They put a bullet in him and left him there to die," she said.

Colorado said the dog's condition had improved significantly since his arrival, although he's lost a great deal of blood and has a broken leg. The animal probably will need a blood transfusion, and his leg might have to be amputated, but doctors won't know for sure for several days, Colorado said.

"His leg is so swollen that we're not sure if he even feels she said. "We won't know until the swelling is down."

Still, "he's doing as good as he can be for a dog who's been shot."

Stolarcyk said she's even considering adopting the dog, who colleagues have been calling Scofield, after a type of pistol. There also was talk of naming him after the cause of his misery. But in deference to the dog, they reconsidered.

"We didn't think 'Bullet' would be appropriate," she said.