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Dog survives shooting near Little Qualicum Fish Hatchery

A Qualicum Beach woman is thankful her dog is alive after it was shot in the neck near the Little Qualicum Fish Hatchery Monday evening.
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Niki Ogilvie and her dog

A Qualicum Beach woman is thankful her dog is alive after it was shot in the neck near the Little Qualicum Fish Hatchery Monday evening.

Niki Ogilvie was walking her two dogs, Shoon, a wolf-malamute cross, and Ocea, a German shepherd-malamute cross, at 4:45 p.m.  when she heard a gunshot.

“We were just finishing our walk and Shoon was walking across the field when I heard a shot. There were a bunch of birds that took off with it and then all I could hear was him crying and howling and screaming.”

Ogilvie, who is five months pregnant, raced to her stricken dog, but couldn’t find him.

“I couldn’t run as fast as I would have liked to, but I couldn’t locate him. I could hear him, but I couldn’t see him. I was calling and calling his name, trying not to be too panicked ... because of the baby, but I couldn’t find him. I went up the hill and drove up around on the logging road to see if someone was up there. When I drove back and was dropping back down the hill he met me at the second gate.”

Shoon had been shot, with the bullet entering the dog’s neck and exiting out the other side.

“The bullet was a .22 and it grazed the tops of his vertebrae. If it was a little bit in either direction, he wouldn’t be here.”

Oceanside RCMP Corporal Jesse Foreman confirmed police received the complaint the following day and are currently investigating.

He noted no major organs were hit in the shooting, but the dog may suffer some nerve damage as a result.

“It appears that the shot was intentional,” Foreman said. “If anyone can provide any additional information about the incident please call the Oceanside RCMP detachment.”

Ogilvie has been walking her dogs at the site for the past three years, ever since she moved to Qualicum Beach from Sooke, but she says she doesn’t plan to go there again any time soon.

“It’s the best spot to go in the summer. I love going there. I was planning to waddle down there this summer with my pregnancy, but I don’t think it’s going to turn out that way.”

Although she doesn’t know what can be done about the shooting, she said it’s important to get the word out about the incident.

“I don’t want to live in fear,” she said. It’s important for the community to know what’s happening at such a busy spot.”

Anyone with information about this shooting is asked to contact the Oceanside RCMP at 250-248-6111.