Family mourns loss of pet shot and killed

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Contact Index staff writer Chris Agee
at cagee@mineralwellsindex.com.

Reporting Lost or Stray Pets

There are several local resources aimed at reuniting lost pets with their owners.
One of the first things someone who finds a lost or stray animal, whether it has identification, is call the Mineral Wells Animal Shelter at (940) 328-7752 or email animalshelter@mineralwellstx.gov and report it, since that is often the first place an owner of a lost pet is going to call.
In addition to posting on the Index’s Facebook page, facebook.com/mineralwellsindex, other online resources include:
• Help Mineral Wells/Palo Pinto County Animals – facebook.com/groups/mwppcanimals.
• Palo Pinto County Humane Society – facebook.com/palopinto.humanesociety.
• CARE Animal Rescue (serving southwest Palo Pinto County) – care4rescue.com. Individuals can also reach CARE via email at care.animalrescue@yahoo.com, or by calling (254) 631-6937.
Traditional resources to help reunite owners with lost pets include:
• Brazos Animal Hospital – (940) 325-2273.
• Pet Western Animal Hospital – (940) 328-0600.
• Mineral Wells Veterinary Clinic – (940) 325-3411.

Related Photos

Arwen, 6, trades a kiss with Bubba, a Siberian husky who was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon by a man who said the dog, along with a German shepherd, were chasing and attacking his goats. Courtesy

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November 29, 2012

Family mourns loss of pet shot and killed

Husky was important part of veteran’s life

Anonymous Mineral Wells Index The Mineral Wells Index Thu Nov 29, 2012, 09:28 AM CST

By CHRIS AGEE

It was an article in Wednesday’s Index that informed a family the fate of one of two missing dogs.

Bubba, a Siberian husky, was shot and killed in just outside the city limits by a man who said the dog, along with a German shepherd, were chasing and attacking his goats.

According to Nikki Dorau, the husky shot by a landowner Tuesday, was her fiancé’s beloved pet. She said Ty Thomas, a U.S. Army veteran, was incredibly close to the 4-year-old dog.

“When he came home from his deployment, you’ve never seen a dog and person so happy to see each other,” Dorau explained. “This is literally killing our family because he was such a big part of our family.”

In addition to Thomas, Dorau said the loss will be very difficult for her 6-year-old daughter, Arwen.

“When my daughter got up [Wednesday] morning, she was like, ‘Mom, where’s Bubba? Did he come home?’ I don’t know how to tell her she won’t be coming back,” she said.

The shooter told the Index he had recently lost several of his goats to wild dogs or coyotes. He said he caught Bubba chasing the animals and shot him to protect his property, though Dorau said she finds the claim inconceivable.

“I read that in the paper ... and I know my dog wouldn’t chase after goats,” she said. “He would never hurt anything or anyone; he was scared of his own shadow.”

She explained Bubba and another family pet, a 7-month-old German shepherd, escaped from the S.E. 18th Street home early Tuesday morning.

“He had gotten is paw in the door and gotten out of the door,” Dorau said. “He was in the house and he had gotten out and of course the German Shepherd ... followed him.”

She said the family attempted to bring the dogs back home but eventually lost sight of them.

“They went across [U.S. Highway] 281 and we got stuck in traffic and couldn’t find them,” she said.

A family in the 1300 block of S.W. 12th Street found both dogs and attempted to keep them until their owners surfaced. Members of that family said the dogs did not have any identifying information on them. The animals escaped from that residence, too, and Bubba was ultimately killed by a neighbor.

According to authorities, the shooting took place on county property, meaning charges will not be filed against him.

The issue of legality aside, Dorau said she just wishes the shooter had tried a non-lethal method of getting rid of the dog.

“I just know that you don’t have to shoot an animal to get him away from your animals,” she said, “especially because my dog was well taken care of so you know he wasn’t a stray.”

She claimed Bubba would not have been aggressive towards any livestock.

“If anything,” she contended, Bubba “was probably running away from [the goats.] He didn’t have a mean bone in his body.”

Dorau said the German shepherd was reunited with the family Wednesday when she claimed the animal at the shelter.