A community has band together to find answers and demand justice after a woman’s dog was shot dead behind her home over the weekend.
Cabo the Catahoula was only 2-years-old, but the dog was the face of a dog rescue, a close friend of the Humane Association, and a participant in the Tiny But Mighty Fund.
Cabo was owned and raised by Cathy Sewell, who runs Keely’s Friends Dog Rescue, a dog rescue specialized in taking Catahoulas in trouble and finding them good homes.
“You don’t adopt a Catahoula, a Catahoula adopts you.” Sewell explained.
Keely’s Friends Dog Rescue with Sewell at the helm has helped more than 200 dogs get adopted, and she has kept some Catahoulas for herself, including Cabo.
“He was just, I mean, the perfect dog.” Sewell said. “Not a mean bone in his body.”
On Saturday, Cabo went missing, and after searching for the dog behind her home, Cathy eventually found Cabo on Monday, shot and left to die.
Cathy hears hunters in the woods behind her house often, but she never thought they’d shoot one of her dogs.
“He was a great dog.” Sewell said while fighting back tears. “They took that from me with one shot.”
Following the news, the Tiny But Mighty Fund decided to offer a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
“The idea that someone could shoot such an innocent creature at close range; this was not an accident.” Marcia Masulla, Founder of the Tiny But Mighty Fund, said.
Cabo was one of the dogs participating in the Tiny But Mighty Fund campaign this year, helping to raise money for other dogs through the Nashville Humane Association.
Masulla said this should be a wakeup call to hunters. “We need to have it be brought to light that this is unacceptable. It’s cruel and it’s unlawful.”
Sewell hopes people will hear about what happened to Cabo and keep their eyes open for illegal behavior.
“if you see someone doing something illegal, please report them.” Sewell said. “Let people know so we can stop this murderous behavior, because what they did was murder my dog for no reason.”
In addition to being apart of numerous causes, Cathy says Cabo was also a member of their family, and one of her niece and nephews’ best friends.
“We’ve lost all that potential of future years and memories with him (Cabo), just an amazing dog that someone just decided, that it would be fun to shoot today.”
