‘Phoenix is our hero,’ says owner after shot dog saw off armed intruders

Surgeons have managed to save the life of a brave dog who was shot in the head while trying to save her family from armed robbers.

After intruders entered the home of the Motalane family in Pretoria earlier this month, their female Africanis named Phoenix advanced on them. The would-be robbers opened fire and a bullet hit Phoenix in the head. The brave dog continued to charge at the intruders and managed to chase them away.

Her owner Mmakgomo Motalane quickly rushed Phoenix to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (Ovah) at the University of Pretoria’s faculty of veterinary science to seek urgent medical attention.

The team of veterinarians on duty, who are all linked to the university’s faculty of companion animal clinical studies, stabilised the dog and discovered a bullet wound on the left side of her mouth and an exit wound on the other side. 

Small animal surgical resident Dr Anike de Witt explained how the process of saving Phoenix took two days, with the first day for evaluation of the extent of the injuries. 

“The first procedure was that we cleaned the wound, evaluated it and did radiographs. It was found the bullet had damaged one side of her face, especially her upper and lower jaw” she said. 

For 45 minutes Dr Mareli van der Wetering of the dental and maxillofacial surgery clinic, with Prof Gerhard Steenkamp, managed the pain and cleaned the wound while removing bone fragments and broken teeth.

“Then we placed an oesophageal feeding tube, as she couldn't eat due to the fractures.” 

Phoenix was taken to theatre the next day as the wound required half her jaw to be removed. 

With the help of the anaesthesiology team and under the guidance of small animal surgical specialist Hermien Viljoen, De Witt managed to do the procedure. 

This meant removing half the dog's jaw and narrowing the edge of her lip to prevent her tongue from constantly falling out, a process which took 90 minutes. 

After the surgery, Phoenix was kept comfortable in the high-care ward where she received treatment from Ovah staff and students.

The brave dog was discharged as soon as her comfort levels were controlled and she was able to take food orally.

“We saw her for a follow-up 10 days after she was discharged and she is doing well and is eating as normal, and she was wagging her tail when she came. The wounds where we did the operation looked good and there were no signs of any concern. We are really happy with how she recovered after the procedure.” 

De Witt said it was a privilege to save Phoenix as this was a very rare case that required the correct methods for a positive outcome.

“It feels like we were not just helping Phoenix but also the family. You can see the love the family has for her and it was rewarding to put the family back together again.

“From my recollection, I've never seen a dog shot in the head where there are vital structures and the dog survives. We had to give her everything we could offer. While we do so with all patients, this is not something we see every day. She really is a miracle dog.”

Her owner said his dog deserved another chance at life after the tragic event.

“Phoenix is our hero and deserves the best possible care to help her overcome this traumatic experience. She deserves a chance to survive this devastating incident,” Motalane said.

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