Dog shot in the face and left to die on street near Las Vegas, Nevada police say

The Nevada Highway Patrol is looking for the owners of a dog who was found bleeding from a gunshot wound to the face on Sunday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Troopers said they responded to an injured animal call at Snow Mountain and U.S. 95. When they arrived, two people were found with an injured dog who “was bleeding from the mouth and had blood on his legs,” Trooper Jason Buratczuk said in a news release.

“It’s unthinkable that someone would do something like this to an animal,” Buratczuk said to the Review-Journal.

Animal Control took the dog to The Animal Foundation, where he was examined by veterinarians, Buratczuk said in the release. The organization’s vets believe the dog was shot in the face.

“[They] just left him there to die,” Doug Avey, the man who found Dudley, told Fox 5.

When he arrived, Avey said he saw two cars and people petting Dudley on the head. He returned an hour later and the cars were gone, but Dudley remained.

“They were gone,” Avey said to Fox 5. “There was another car there and I stopped to see if [the driver] needed help. He told me as soon as he pulled up to help, the other cars sped off.”

Avey said Dudley was left with a “bowl of water, which was already stained red with blood when a trooper arrived,” the Review-Journal said.

“Animal cruelty is a felony in Nevada, and these perpetrators need to be brought to justice,” Buratczuk said in the release.

Anyone with information about Dudley’s owners may call the Highway Patrol at 702-486-4100 or The Animal Foundation at 702-384-3333. To leave an anonymous tip, call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.