The will to live proved stronger than the evil done to a gentle giant of a dog now named Casey. The Great Dane was recently rescued from the Beaver Lake area having suffered multiple gunshots and showing signs of severe malnourishment.

Friday before last Karen Thomas of Forks was told by her son Ryan that there was an injured dog out in the woods. Ryan had told his mother that he had tried to get the dog in his vehicle but thought the dog had growled and was worried about being bitten.

Ryan knew his mother being an animal lover might try to head out in the dark to try to save the dog. It was all Karen could do to wait until morning. “I decided to wait and get a muzzle from Dr. Pat on Saturday morning, then my granddaughter Taryn and I headed out to find the dog,” Karen said.

Karen shared that they headed down the road where Ryan had last seen the dog and, “There it was standing there, just like it was waiting for us to return,” Karen shared through tears.

Karen said the dog was so weak and she could see what appeared to be an injury to its head. Once back in Forks, Karen stopped at Dr. Pat’s Pet Care and Dr. Pat contacted Mel Marshall, manager at the WAG Half Way Home Ranch in Sequim. Mel agreed to meet Karen, Taryn, and the dog at Shadow Mountain.

Mel shared with Karen that she had never seen anything so terrible. Once back to WAG the dog was named Casey and a trip to the vet happened right away. A Great Dane’s weight should be about 140 pounds, while this dog was about half that weight. X-rays confirmed by the Sequim veterinarian that his jaw was shattered from a gunshot.

Considering all Casey has been through he was seen in videos posted by WAG wagging his tail. He is currently being fed carefully so as not to shock his system and seems to be improving.

Karen also shared that the Sequim vet estimated the bullet wounds to be about a month old.

A GoFundMe can be found on the WAG website, wagsequimwa.com, to help with Casey’s care and surgery needed once he is healthy enough.