In late August, a dog named Gus made national headlines after someone shot him 25 times with a pellet gun and cut his neck by tying a shoestring tightly around it.
When the ailing stray dog was discovered on the streets of Houston, his head had swollen to twice its normal size. He was rushed to an emergency veterinary clinic, where he received life-saving surgery. Gus was then sent to a soft tissue specialist at the Texas A&M Small Animal Clinic in College Station due to the heavy scarring around the circumference of his neck, including around his jugular vein.
Since then, Gus has made tremendous strides in his recovery and now lives in a loving foster home with Marina Harrison, an employee of the vet hospital where he was treated. He’s even giving back to the community by participating in the fight against animal cruelty!
On Saturday, October 20, Gus reported to Eleanor Tinsley Park in Houston at 9:30 AM sharp to host #IAMGUS, a walk to raise awareness of animal cruelty — and, more specifically, to the suffering of strays like Gus.
Attendees were encouraged to wear rescue organization shirts or to purchase a “Walk With Gus Against Animal Cruelty” t-shirt at the event. Those without rescue shirts were urged to wear purple or orange shirts – the colors of awareness against animal cruelty. Participants also brought signs and posters displaying photographs of animals they were unable to save, also bearing the hashtag “#IAMGUS.”
In an interview with ABC 13 Eyewitness News, Michelle Haberland, a board member of Houston K-911 Rescue, noted the impact Gus had on raising public awareness due to the severity of his injuries. She continued: “It’s a very unfortunate thing that happened to Gus, but it happens every day in the city to every animal.”
I am so happy Gus is all right ! Love you Gus ! Glad you helping fighting animal cruelty.
PEOPLE THAT DO THIS DO NOT DESERVE A LIFE. THEY ARE DANGEROUS AND WILL DO MORE HARM. THEY ARE A USELESS POS WHO I WISH NOTHING BUT DEATH FOR THAT MOF. THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL DEVOTED LIL SOUL WHO WOULD RISK HIS OWN LIFE FOR HIS OWNER. THESE ANIMALS SHOULD NOT KNOW TORTURE TO GET SOME SICK MOF OFF
A heartfelt thank you to all who helped Gus; and, an even bigger thank you to Gus, himself, because Gus is giving back. Naturally dogs are MORE giving than humans, and Gus is evidence of that.
I hope the Houston law enforcement will work tirelessly to find the scum who did this to Gus, who did nothing to deserve to suffer such agonizing pain.
Thank you, again, Gus, for being bigger than the scumbag who shot you. I am so happy that you recovered and God bless you, as well as those who helped you. Keep kicking strong, Gus!
Thank you to everyone who helped save poor Gus. We all hope that Gus finds a wonderful new homes as he sure deserves it and lives a wonderful life with his new family. I hope they find the monster who did this and they are severely punished.
BEST WISHES GUS……HAVE A WONDERFUL LIFE YOU HANDSOME BOY!!
And, again, a gun was used. Sick person. Even sicker society–many people probably saw this dog in need of help and did nothing. Amazing to think that this dog was in so much pain and people probably looked right through him. This says a lot about our lack of compassion in this society. If I may quote Albert Schweitzer: “When man learns to respect even the smallest being of creation . . . nobody has to teach him to love his fellow man. Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.”
We are Lennox. We are Puppy Doe. We are Cecil. We are Caitlin. And now we are Gus. We will never forget and we will never forgive the perpetrators for their cruelty.
This world is so sickening to the precious animals on our planet. If laws do NOT get stronger we will be without animals one day, and that HURTS my Soul.
Karma will get all cruel people!