Their owner never admitted to holding the pellet gun.
But it’s clear, authorities said, that Dozer the boxer and Luna the pit bull were shot inside their own home on more than one occasion, leaving both dogs with multiple untreated fractures and nearly 70 pellets embedded in their bodies.
More than a year later, the physical damage lingers. But the sweet spirits of Luna and Dozer, remarkably, have remained undimmed by the abuse that nearly killed them.
“Even in the beginning, they were absolute sweethearts,” said foster mom Tricia Dowden. “It amazes me how forgiving they are.”
Former owner Shannon Dolan was sentenced earlier this month in Nevada County Superior Court after pleading no contest to animal cruelty. Dolan agreed to surrender Luna and Dozer and is barred from pet ownership for a decade.