Horror as dog loses eye after being shot in face with a 12 bore in Fenland orchard

A family has been left traumatised and facing a mounting vet bill after their dog was shot in the face with a 12 bore.

Waffle, a three-year-old cockapoo, has lost his left eye as a result of Tuesday's incident in Emneth and has dozens of pellets from the shotgun embedded in his head.

His owners Jodie Lee, Gary Muller and their children Oscar, eight and nine-year-old Harley, are devastated by what has happened to their loveable pet and Norfolk police have launched an investigation.

Jodie said: "It was early last Tuesday, about 6am, and I let Waffle out into the garden for a wee, we have about a quarter of an acre that has a dyke at the bottom with orchards on the other side.

"Waffle never bothers to jump the dyke but on Tuesday there was a rabbit and he decided to chase it and he landed up in the orchard. I kept calling him, but he didn't come back, so I went inside to get Gary to come and help me get him back.

"But as we out into the garden Waffle was on his way back and he was covered in blood, it was clear he had been badly hurt. I just burst into tears and was really shaken by the state he was in.

"We rushed him straight over to the vets in King's Lynn who had to wait to treat him, because he had gone into such bad shock. Eventually he stabilised and they were able to have a proper look at him, and that's when they discovered he had been shot.

"I couldn't believe it when they told me. I was literally in the house a matter of minutes, I didn't hear a gunshot, and I doubt Waffle was missing more than 10 minutes, so it must have happened really close to the house.

"I imagined all kinds of things happening to him including getting into a fight with a fox, but I never imagined he had been shot. There is no live stock near us, so he could not have been worrying sheep or anything.

"It is literally orchards and a bit of farm land. When he disappeared after the rabbit I wasn't particularly worried because it was an orchard and not a road. This has really upset the boys, and I don't like going into the garden, because I can still see Waffle covered in blood.

"Why someone felt the need to shoot a friendly, loveable dog like Waffle I don't know. It is clear from the X-ray that he was shot at quite close range, so it can't have been an accident, whoever was shooting would have known it was a dog."

Jodie's next door neighbour has launched a Gofundme page to help the family cover the vets bill which is already at £3,500.

"We don't know what treatment he might need in the future. The vet has had to leave loads of pellets in his head because they are so deeply embedded, we just hope he can get back to enjoying a normal life, but we shall have to wait and see," added Jodie.