SOUTHWEST RANCHES, FLA. (WSVN) - A dog that was found shot in the face in Homestead is making a full recovery, and now he has found an out-of-state family to call his own.
His tail wagging, Brut was in a happy mood on Saturday when he met his new owner, Craig Branch, in Southwest Ranches.
“Happy, beautiful, a miracle. Happy that we were chosen to get him,” said Branch.
Branch and his wife, who flew down to South Florida from South Carolina, said they’d been keeping an eye on Brut’s story after it was first reported.
The poor pup had been shot under the eye and left for dead.
Speaking with 7News back in December, good Samaritans Fahiym Elison and Gloria Rosario described the canine’s condition when they found him.
“I went outside, and the dog was there, he was shot, he was running around. We just heard people screaming that somebody shot the dog,'” said Elison.
Rosario said the dog, known as Chico back then, was a friendly neighborhood stray.
“He was never violent; he never attacked nobody,” she said. “All he was looking for was comfort and somebody to feed him.”
X-rays showed the bullet traveled down into the animal’s chest, where it was lodged.
After days of running from people in pain, the dog was picked up and taken to an animal hospital, where he got his current nickname.
“I thought he was going to die. I mean, something – I am super happy about everything,” said Gloria Cabal with iHeart Animal Rescue, the group that stepped in to help Brut.
Veterinarians eventually removed the bullet.
Cindy Mucciaccio with iHeart Animal Rescue said the Branches reached out to them.
“They said they wanted to donate to help towards his medical [expenses] and see how he was doing, and he reminded them a lot of their dog that they had who passed away,” said Mucciaccio.
“We lost our dog, who is eerily similar to him, about two years ago,” said Branch.
The couple couldn’t help but ask to rehome him. They just had to wait until he was in better health.
And now the day when Brut gets to go to his new home has come.
“He’s doing amazing. He is healed and ready to go home,” said Muccaccio.
Brut got his nickname because he was discovered around New Year’s Eve.
“The bottle of Champagne named Brut,” said Cabal as he gave a bottle to Branch.
And, as Brut gets ready for his new home, he’ll get a new suitable name: Lucky.
“Because he’s lucky, and we should call him Blessed, I guess, because he is blessed to be here, and we are blessed to have him,” said Branch.
The Branches are driving Lucky back home where, they said, they just purchased a new house with a big backyard where he will have plenty of space to play and be loved.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.