Sheriff’s office investigating cow shot in Douglas County; Hope the dog soon to be ready for adoption; alleged shooting in Salty Iguana parking lot

Lawrence Humane Society Executive Director Kate Meghji comforts Hope, a dog found Thursday morning along Highway 24 with gunshot wounds.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office wants your help in solving the case of a cow that was shot in southeast Douglas County.

The sheriff’s office learned of the incident on Oct. 1, when someone reported that a black and white Holstein dairy cow was shot seven times in the chest, abdomen and head in the 200 block of East 2200 Road.

The cow was discovered after it and other cattle escaped their pasture Sept. 30 and were seen near the roadway that day, the sheriff’s office said. The owner later got them back into his pasture.

The good news is that the cow’s veterinarian expects the cow to survive its injuries, the sheriff’s office said. The veterinarian believes the cow was shot the same day it escaped on Sept. 30.

If you or anyone you know has information about the shooting, please call the sheriff’s office at (785) 841-0007.
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That sad little story reminded me of Hope, the canine shooting victim from this summer.

A good Samaritan discovered poor Hope wounded and wandering along U.S. Highway 24 on July 30. She brought the brindle pit bull mix to the Lawrence Humane Society, and Hope’s wounds were so bad that they thought she’d been hit by a car, Humane Society Executive Director Kate Meghji said.

photo by: Richard Gwin

Lawrence Humane Society Executive Director Kate Meghji comforts Hope, a dog found Thursday morning along Highway 24 with gunshot wounds.

But when Humane Society veterinarian Jennifer Stone began surgery on the dog that day, she found dozens of shotgun pellets in Hope’s head, torso and leg. It looked like someone shot the pup at least three times.

Shotgun pellets that were removed from a pit bull mix in surgery Thursday at the Lawrence Humane Society. Photo by Richard Gwin.

The prognosis at first was iffy; Stone though that perhaps she’d have to amputate Hope’s leg. But after further surgeries, rehabilitation and a lot of love, Hope has recovered and amputation was not necessary.

An X-ray image of Hope the dog's rear leg with shotgun pellets inside. This X-ray was taken after Lawrence Humane Society veterinarian Jennifer Stone had already removed dozens of shotgun pellets in surgery.

Now, about two and a half months later, Hope has lived up to her name. She’s all healed up and will be available for adoption this week at the Lawrence Humane Society, 1805 E. 19th St.

I’ve met Lawrence’s little underdog and can attest to her sweet demeanor. And after the ordeal she’s been through, can you imagine how grateful and loving she will be with the family who gets to take her home?

I’ll keep you updated here. In the meantime, I invite you to check out some of the other animals up for adoption at the Humane Society at its website, http://lawrencehumane.org/.

The Humane Society makes many life-saving efforts like Hope’s. If you’d like to help out, you can donate to the Lawrence Humane Society’s medical fund at www.lawrencehumane.org/donate.

The sheriff’s office also investigated this case, but information on the investigation was not immediately available Monday.
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Speaking of shootings, Lawrence police spokesman Sgt. Trent McKinley told me about an incident just before 2 a.m. Sunday that is alleged to have involved gunfire in the Salty Iguana parking lot, 4931 W. Sixth St. Suite 100.

Sunday, 1:55 a.m.

Officers were dispatched to the scene of a fight in the Salty Iguana parking lot, and police were told that gunshots were allegedly fired during the altercation, McKinley said. As the first officer arrived, several vehicles were leaving the parking lot.

Officers were still able to approach a few witnesses to the incident who said a cluster of men had been fighting in the parking lot, McKinley said. They claimed that at some point gunfire erupted, prompting several people in the area to leave the scene.

Police took some shell casings found in the parking lot into evidence, but did not find anyone who appeared to have been shot by the bullets, McKinley said. The investigation remains ongoing; no arrests have been made so far.
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And now for our regular 911 call roundup. As always, I’ll remind you that this is a list of noteworthy calls I pulled from the Lawrence Police Department call log. Not all calls yielded police reports, and many may have gone unsubstantiated. The list is meant to give you an idea of what kinds of calls police are responding to within a given time period.

This list is a collection of calls that police responded to between Friday afternoon and Monday morning:

Violence

• Disturbance (verbal or physical arguments): 16

• Disturbance with weapons: 3

• Domestic disturbance with weapons: 1

• Domestic disturbance: 10

• Domestic battery: 3

• Fight in progress: 7

• Battery: 4

Traffic

• Injury accident: 3

• Noninjury accident: 21

• Police pursuit: 2

• Road rage: 1

Medical

• Medical: 11

• Suicide threat: 1

• Suicide attempt: 1

• Death investigation: 1

Person crimes

• Sex crime: 5

• Harassment: 2

• Criminal threat: 8

Miscellaneous

• Indecent exposure: 1

• Suspicious activity: 6

• Suspicious activity with weapons: 2

• Noise or Nuisance: 18

• Sound of gunshots: 1

Welfare

• Child welfare check: 4

• Adult welfare check: 11

• Animal welfare check: 5

• Runaway: 1

• Missing child: 1

• Missing adult: 2

Substance concerns

• Drug activity: 1

• Bar check: 5

• Alcohol poisoning: 2

Property crimes

• Burglary: 5

• Forgery: 3

• Auto burglary: 1

• Theft: 14

• Criminal damage: 7

• Trespassing: 8

• Shoplifting: 3