Dosha has bullet scars on her nose

Photo: Lake County Record-Bee

She was hit by a car, shot in the head and kept in a freezer for two hours, but she survived and is now doing well under a veterinarian's care.

Local animal groups and the Humane Society of the United States have begun fundraising efforts to pay for her care.

Dosha's story began one morning when she slipped out of her owner's property in Clearlake, California, about 100 miles (160 kilometres) north of San Francisco.

She was hit by a car and was left lying at the side of the road.

I went to the freezer and found that she was alive and cold

Denise Johnson

Officer Bob MacDonald thought Dosha was fatally wounded and shot her below her right eye to save her from more pain, the Lake County Record-Bee reported.

Animal control staff later took away what they thought was a carcass and put it in a freezer at the dog pound.

Two hours later, the pound's interim director Denise Johnson was told of the incident and decided to check on Dosha.

"I went to the freezer and found that she was alive and cold," she said.

Recovery

The 10-month-old mixed-breed dog was taken to vets who found she had hypothermia and a gunshot wound, but apparently no broken bones from the initial car accident.

Bullet fragments have been removed from her head, she has started eating on her own.

Police authorities have defended the action of the officer, who may have feared the injured dog would become aggressive.

But animal welfare groups are questioning the shooting.

Dosha, however, looks as if she will have many more dog days ahead of her.