Christopher Kent's daughters miss their favourite companion. (submitted photo/Christopher Kent)

By Nigel Maxwell

Tragic events

RCMP investigating after family’s dog shot and left for dead

Jul 29, 2024 | 5:00 PM

A grieving family living in St. Louis is left with many questions after its longtime beloved pet was shot and left for dead.

Christopher Kent and his partner were home Friday night watching television when Bailey, a nine-year-old mix of pyrenees and doberman pincher, started barking. Christopher, who had just returned home from work, went outside to investigate.

Bailey was tied up about 10 feet away and nearby there was a stranger, dressed all in black and their head was covered.

“I was thinking maybe they were just looking to just maybe pet my dog or something like that, but he turned around really suspiciously, like he was concealing something,” Kent recalled, adding the stranger laughed as they walked away.

Kent then returned to the house, and roughly half an hour later, there was a loud banging on the window and their neighbour was yelling “your dog got shot, your dog got shot.”

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“I ran outside. My dog was near the door and she was panting and there was blood all over her,” he said.

A young Bailey. (Submitted/ Christopher Kent)

While holding Bailey in his arms, Kent immediately called the police. The neighbour told Kent they heard two or three shots total.

After telling the RCMP what happened, Kent, with no option locally for an emergency veterinarian, drove to College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon. That’s where he was told Bailey had been shot in the shoulder and while the bullet missed her lungs, her chest and abdomen were filling up with air and she was still bleeding.

The cost for surgery and stay at the college, amounted to over $8,000 and so Kent, who is the sole financial provider for his family, made the difficult decision to have the dog put down.

“So she died in my arms at 2 in the morning,” he said.

The couple has four children and Kent acknowledged his daughters were very upset over the loss. Adding to the family’s frustration is the fact that his 14-year-old daughter had been receiving threats and disturbing messages through social media, both before and after the shooting.

“We’ve just been up kind of going through everything that we can in social media. We’ve been trying to find his name,” Kent said.

Saskatchewan RCMP have confirmed the incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information should contact Wakaw RCMP at 310-RCMP or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). As the family waits for answers, they have in the meantime plans to plant a tree in Bailey’s honour.

“Because she didn’t deserve to go the way she did. We still had lots of time to spend with her,” Kent said.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell