-------------------- N E W S R E L E A S E -------------------- Auburn University - University Relations (334) 844-9999 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4/13/95 Sam Hendrix (334) 844-3698 BULLDOG RECOVERING AT AUBURN VET SCHOOL AFTER BEING SHOT AUBURN -- A three-year-old English bulldog is recovering at the Small Animal Clinic at Auburn UniversityÕs College of Veterinary Medicine after being shot three times in an apparent robbery. The bulldog -- named Patton -- is owned by Eric and Amy Desch of Pleasant Hill, which is about 20 miles southwest of Selma in Dallas County. Patton was shot Friday twice in the abdomen and once in a front leg. "When I returned home around 7 oÕclock that evening, I found him laying in the back yard and I knew immediately he had been shot," said Eric Desch. "He walked over towards me, and then I picked him up and put him in the back of my truck." Desch took Patton to his veterinarian, Dr. B.D. Buster of Selma, an Auburn graduate. Buster treated the dog, but decided he needed more extensive care at AU. Patton arrived at Auburn's Small Animal Clinic at 2 a.m. Saturday and underwent surgery later that morning. "That surgery enabled us to explore the abdomen and determine the extent of the damage to PattonÕs abdominal organs," said Dr. Eric Wilson, a resident in the Small Animal Clinic. "We elected to leave one bullet in his lung, and we will determine later whether to remove that bullet." Patton also suffered a fractured left foreleg as a result of a bullet, but his skin wounds are beginning to heal, said Wilson, adding, "As tough as he is, he has already begun to walk on that leg." "We got him when he was five weeks old," Amy Desch said. "He is a descendant of the bulldog that was the mascot on a Marine Corps poster years ago." Patton will likely remain at the AU College of Veterinary Medicine at least until next week. # # # april95:patton CONTACT: Desches, (334) 875-4643; Buster, (334) 875-3700; or Wilson, (334) 844-4690.