A $13,000 reward is being offered for information regarding a German Shepherd that was recently shot in the Village of Wellington, Florida.

The dog, named Bella, suffered a gunshot wound to her face and a fractured jaw.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s officers responded to a call at 8:30 a.m recently regarding a case of animal cruelty. Upon arriving at the Folkstone Circle area of Willington they discovered an injured Bella.

What kind of person could do such a thing to a poor defenseless animal? The #wanted coward shot this German Shepherd in Wellington and left her to bleed. Whoever it was almost killed her after she escaped from home on Wednesday. The owner demands justice.https://t.co/YPQ4w0MtoX

— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) March 4, 2022

Bella has a long road to recovery.

While Bella survived the incident, she has a long road to recovery ahead of her. She is currently receiving care at the Big Dog Ranch Rescue.

“It just breaks my heart that somebody could do this to such a sweet innocent animal,” said Lauree Simmons with Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Loxahatchee. “Whatever it takes, we’re gonna get her better. She’s too sweet not to save.”

Help us find out who shot Bella. $13,000 Reward.

German Shepard Bella was shot in the face and upper body. We’re looking for the person responsible for committing this heinous act. We have a 13K reward for anyone with information. Help us serve justice. RT pic.twitter.com/2a5Ekq0kQY

— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) March 7, 2022

Bella’s owner was located but surrendered her to the Big Dog Ranch Rescue. She’ll be available for adoption once she has recovered.

Anyone with information on who shot Bella is being advised to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS.

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Bella had escaped.

Bella’s owner says she had escaped from a screened-in porch area. The family had been searching for her when they learned she had been shot a few blocks away from their home. The owners have since surrendered her.

Bella has now been renamed Empress by the staff at the Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Loxahatchee Groves.

Bullet lodged in Bella’s trachea.

Sydney Vreeland is an employee at the rescue ranch and showed WPBF x-rays of poor Empress’ injuries. The bullet lodged in the German shepherd’s trachea.

“This is a bullet fragment right here,” Vreeland said, pointing to an x-ray that showed the bullet lodged toward the back of the dog’s trachea.

Vreeland continued to show that the bullet entered just under her left eye and broke her jaw. Empress may require surgery to remove the bullet but doctors are worried about operating so close to her spine. She might also need to have surgery in order to repair her broken jaw.

“I don’t understand people who can do this to a dog like this,” Vreeland said. “It’s really, really upsetting.”

Why did Empress’ family surrender the dog?

It might seem cruel for Empress’ family to have abandoned their dog, but this is not to say they didn’t love her. Unfortunately, the veterinarian bills they were looking at having to pay for her care were more than they could afford. They have been visiting her while she’s in the rescue ranch, however.

Juanis Hernandez has been raising Bella since she was a puppy, although Bella is technically her uncle’s dog.

“Obviously, it was really hard,” Hernandez said. “We had her as a puppy. We raised her. We took care of her.”

Hernandez also spoke about how difficult it was to hear of what happened to Bella.

“It was a big shock,” Hernandez said. “I was sobbing. Me and my sister were sobbing just seeing her. She’s such a sweet dog. She’s never violent.”

She continued to say that she hopes they find whoever did this.

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Source: Facebook – PBSO – Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, WPTV/CBS Local