One week ago, Nipsey the nursing dog was shot in her face by a police officer. At the time, her family said that she was with her pups and they warned the officer that she might be aggressive. Still, the officer went into the back of the yard, and when Nipsey started barking, he took out his gun and pulled the trigger.
Nipsey was rushed to the vet and has been recovering ever since. But it's a long road ahead since, apart from the physical damage to her body, she is now left traumatized.
Courtney Menzies visited her and her pups today. Here is that story.
Nipsey's 10 pups are slowly growing bigger and stronger, and their mom is on the road to recovery after she was shot in the face by a police officer.
But even though she survived the bullet, which damaged one of her nostrils, broke several teeth, and shattered her jaw, she is now living with the trauma. Her family says that Nipsey is not the happy, carefree dog they once knew.
Royann Riverol, Resident, Supal Street
"Nipsey is not the same dog, Nipsey is not the same from before this incident. She would only bark at you when you're playing with her. Now, she's in a defensive mode that she will bark at anybody, even me. She will bark until she can really actually see your face that good to understand, okay, that's my owner, that's someone I know. She tends to have a panic attack and then she goes and hides under my bed or hides under my son's feet. You cannot leave her alone, not for a split moment you cannot leave her alone. You have to sleep beside her, you have to have someone beside her. Nipsey is not the same. Every time you look at her, you see a worried face, a sad face, and you don't know what is going on."
Now, she must be kept in isolation, and on antibiotics and anti inflammatory medication. She's unable to eat the same solid foods she used to, and she requires surgery to fix her teeth, pieces of which are lodged in her gums.
And after the shooting, Nipsey can also no longer go back to the place where it happened, and back to the nursing mom she once was.
Royann Riveroll, Resident, Supal Street
"She comes right here in this verandah and she looks the direction that she got shot and she barks, barks, barks, and she doesn't want to go to the back, not for a split second she wants to go to the back. She will turn around and go right over to my house so she's not free anymore. She sees and feels fear, and she's scared. When you're walking her with the leash, you have to be right beside her, not in front, not at the back, right beside her or else she looks at you in your face to see if you're coming right beside her."
Courtney Menzies:
"And even though she's home, she still can't take care of her pups?"
Royann Riveroll, Resident, Supal Street
"No, because of the medication, the antibiotics will mess up the pups, either to let them die, or they will have diarrhea or something of that sort but she's unable to feed her pups anymore."
Courtney Menzies:
"So that's still the duty that you guys have."
Royann Riveroll, Resident, Supal Street
"Yes, sleepless nights feeding them and it's a struggle because at times they don't want to take the feed or the bottle."
And apart from the mental toll - medications, surgeries, and special food are taking a financial toll on the Riverol family. And though they've made a report about the cop who shot Nipsey, they haven't heard anything. They've even reached out to the Minister, but to no avail.
Royann Riverol, Resident, Supal Street
"I'm trying to contact Mr Musa because he told us to get back to him. I tried calling him from Monday, haven't heard anything from him since, I sent messages and still nothing."
But despite the horror she faced, Nipsey is still a gentle pit, one that just wants affection - but also deserves some justice.
We will be following up with the commissioner on this incident - the third dog shooting we have covered in the last three years.
