CARBON COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — A dog who was found on the side of the road in Carbon County with gunshot wounds to his head is now home from the MedVet hospital, but he is facing permanent damage.
The woman who rescued the dog, Tanner Tamllos, said the dog has made significant progress in his recovery. She said he is now eating, walking and playing again.
“He’s proving everybody wrong,” she said. “We went from 10% chance of life to where he’s at now — playing in the backyard with three other dogs. And so it’s pretty crazy that now we’re here, and he’s happy and being shown the love that he deserved in the first place.”
Tamllos was visiting her family in Carbon County for Easter when she said she saw a dog in a ditch on the side of the road on Friday, March 29. She said he looked malnourished and as if he had been attacked by an animal. After taking him to the vet, she learned he had been shot twice in his head.
The dog, a young wirehaired vizsla whom she named BluJay, received treatment from Dr. Harmer at Castle Country Vet before being transferred to MedVet in Salt Lake County. He has undergone surgery several times to remove both the bullets and his left eye.
After this last surgery, which was highly risky, doctors called Tamllos saying she could bring him home on Thursday, April 4. When she had dropped him off initially, he was not strong enough to walk and had to be taken in on a gurney.
“All of a sudden, I see his little nose peek around the corner and he was walking, and I broke down into tears,” she said.
While BluJay survived the incident and subsequent surgeries, he did not leave the shooting without permanent damage. Doctors say he is now “fully blind” and has bullet fragments littering his brain.
Doctors say removing the shrapnel would likely prove “too much for him” and have chosen to leave it in with hopes they won’t move and cause brain damage. If he continues to do well and improve, Tamllos will take him back to MedVet in a few weeks for a CAT scan to check on the shards.
“We’re not out of the woods right now, there is still a chance that he just hits a decline,” Tamllos said.
BluJay is currently staying with her cousin’s family alongside three young children and several pets. If it is a good fit for BluJay and the family, he will live there permanently. Otherwise, two other homes have offered to take him in, including Tamllos’ dad.
“He’s doing really well, I’ve gotten videos of him playing today, eating and chewing on his toys,” she said.
She said the local mailman also dropped by the home to take a picture with him. When they stopped to buy dog food at Tractor Supply, people recognized them and asked to come see BluJay.
“Everybody loves him, he’s such a good boy, he’s so sweet.”
While the community loves BluJay and has shown support through donations of all kinds, it extends much further than Carbon County.
“I had people [donate from] Louisiana, Florida, New Mexico, British Columbia, London, Canada, like all these different places, so it went even farther than our little community and our state,” Tamllos said. “His story’s everywhere.”
She said all the current medical bills have been paid through donations, including a donation from Dr. Harmer who helped cover the remaining bill before transferring BluJay to MedVet. Those who still want to donate can access BluJay’s Amazon Wishlist or donate to Tamllos’ Venmo for his upcoming CAT scan costs.
“Just a huge thank you to not only our community, but people all over that have come near and far to help us do this. Without them, I could not have gotten him the care that he needed,” she said.
Tamllos reported the incident to the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office last Saturday who spoke with her on Easter Sunday. She has not heard back since. The CCSO told ABC4 they would have more information available next week.
