Two Dogs Go Missing, Only One Returns And With A Horrifying Injury

There have been some shocking stories of missing animals showing up later as obvious victims of abuse, but this week has brought a particularly distressing story of cruelty and survival. A family from Michigan recently had two of their family dogs go missing. One returned to them full of bullet holes, the other never came back.

Mike Vislosky from Burnside Township spoke to the Times Herald about the tragedy, claiming he wants to know who shot one of his missing dogs and possibly killed the other one.

“It was terrible, it was just overwhelming, you’re just filled with anger and fear and everything all bottled up in one,” said Vislosky.

The pet owner says the missing dogs vanished on February 5. The younger dog, Hatchi, returned home on Wednesday, but he was in terrible condition. The 3-year-old pup had multiple gunshot wounds that were several days old. Hatchi managed to survive several obvious attempts on his life and find his way back to his family. The other missing dog, 10-year-old Ranger, is still nowhere to be found.

Hatchi is a golden retriever and labrador mix. You can see a photo of how the missing dog returned below, but the image is graphic and may be upsetting to some.

Mike Vislosky, who reportedly owns and operates his own business in Brown City, is offering $3,000 in reward money to anyone who can provide information that leads to the arrest of the person who shot Hatchi. The owners would like the culprit to be charged with animal cruelty. A GoFundMe page has also been set up to raise funds to find justice for the missing dogs and to pay for the medical expenses of Hatchi’s bullet wounds.

“I’m trying to find the responsible person who shot my dog and possible dogs. (one is still missing) we have offered up a $2000 reward from our own savings for info on the guilty person who would commit such a heinous senseless crime… we by no means are looking to turn this into a profit situation.. we would like to cover medical expenses and possible add some to the Reward… anything after that we would to donate to a Animal rescue organization…. thank you from the bottom of our hearts….”

A recent update reveals that Hatchi should make a full recovery, but he will have gunshot scars for the rest of his life.

“Other than looking terrible, he’s doing surprisingly well,” said Mike Vislosky.

The page is still accepting donations, but they exceeded their request for $2,000 by another $1,000. Now that Hatchi’s medical expenses have been paid, Mike Vislosky and his family plan to donate the remaining money to Sanilac County Humane Society.

According to the Huffington Post, Mike Vislosky doesn’t understand who would shoot somebody else’s missing dog, even with a state law that permits people to shoot a dog that appears to be attacking a human or livestock. Vislosky’s wife Becky is convinced that neither of the missing dogs would ever hurt anyone or anything.

“They’ve not caused any problems,” she said. “They’re great with kids. We have two children.”

Mike Vislosky seems to have accepted the fact that the missing dog who never came home is probably no longer alive. But, he would still like to find Ranger so that the family can find closure and put their beloved pet to rest.

“I understand you’ve got a right to protect your livestock, but these dogs were born and raised around livestock… At this point, I would just like to have Ranger home and just have closure… I want to bring him home and bury him next to his dad.”

What do you think should be done to the person who shot the family’s missing dogs? Should they be prosecuted?

[Photos courtesy of Mike Vislosky]