West Chicago dog survives shooting

A West Chicago pooch has given new meaning to the term Wonder Dog.

Hunter, a 5-year-old shepherd-labrador mix, returned home from the vet just a day after being shot in the face by a police officer.

The dog's owner, Nancy Podschwit, said she was shopping on Monday when a neighbor called police because one of her dogs was outside its electric fence.

An officer arrived at Podschwit's home. After getting no answer at the front door, he went around to the side.

That's where he encountered a growling Hunter, police said. The dog cornered him.

"He first attempted to pepper spray the dog and after that had no effect, he took acts to protect himself," West Chicago Deputy Chief Bruce Malkin said. "The officer felt threatened."

The officer shot Hunter in the middle of his forehead. But the bullet apparently hit the dog's skull, ran under the skin and exited by his right ear.

"I can't believe he got shot in the head and survived," Podschwit said.

Officers initially told her the dog had died, and she called her attorney in tears.

"She was crying so hard, I could barely make out her words," said her attorney, Anna Morrison-Ricordati.

The attorney called Emergency Veterinary Services of St. Charles, where the dog had been taken and asked to preserve the body.

"They said, 'What body? He's here wagging his tail,'" Morrison-Ricordati recalled. "It was a shock."

Hunter returned home on Tuesday, Christmas Day. He has stitches and some hearing loss -- and may need reconstructive work -- but for the most part appears OK, Podschwit said.

But she said she's shocked and angered at how police handled the situation.

"It scares me that it's that easy to unload a gun into the head of a dog," she said. "I don't think it's right."

Hunter is friendly and harmless and has never bitten anyone, she said.

The family is considering legal action. And they want police to pay for their $935 vet bill.

Malkin called the situation "regrettable," but said the officer used the necessary force to protect himself.

Podschwit disagreed.

"Dogs bark," she said. "When people are on the property, they have a right to growl. You don't just shoot them in the head."