A Cumberland County family is searching for answers after its dog was found with life-threatening gunshot wounds.

County resident Lily Stevens said she came home early from school Tuesday, Feb. 11, and immediately knew something wasn’t right when she had trouble locating her beloved beagle, Tucker.

After searching for the dog for more than half an hour, she discovered Tucker hiding under the porch of her family’s home on Lewis Road in Cumberland.

The beagle was riddled with injuries and lying in a pool of blood from a shotgun wound.

Stevens’ family immediately transported Tucker to Cumberland Animal Hospital. According to Stevens, Tucker had what looked like road rash between his back legs and various contusions. The veterinarian originally assumed the canine had been in a dog fight or hit by a car before an X-ray revealed dozens of bullet fragments throughout Tucker’s body. Tucker spent Tuesday night fighting for his life.

The family reported the incident to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and Cumberland County Animal Control.

Animal Control Officer Michael Davis said Thursday afternoon the office does not currently have any leads into the investigation.

Stevens’ said Thursday that Tucker’s condition is now stable and the dog is alert and able to eat.

“The main thing we’re going through is making sure he gets through the infection, and there’s really no way that we can get all the bullet fragments out, because there’s so many and it would just cause way too much muscle damage and be extremely painful for him,” she said.

Stevens said the family was told their beloved dog was hit with both birdshot and buckshot pellets, and that the dog had been shot in such a way that implied he may have been pinned or held down as he was attacked.

A GoFundMe page has been setup to help cover the cost of vet bills after the incident. The fundraiser had raised $238 as of Monday afternoon. The GoFundMe can be reached by logging onto https://tinyurl.com/tuckersrecovery.

Stevens hopes to find justice for her furry friend and warns others in the area to keep their pets close and out of harm’s way.

“We’re really hoping that this is brought to justice,” she added. “This person is absolutely cruel and has to be a monster to do something this inhumane.”

The incident is still under investigation. Anyone with any information on the case can contact animal control at (804) 492-3076.