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By Polly Summar
Journal Northern Bureau
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About five weeks ago, a healthy German shepherd-mix dog wandered into the village of Cañones near Abiquiu — and into the lives of Susan Olsen and her neighbor.
"He was fresh and clean and beautiful and totally calm and serene," Olsen said.
When attempts to find his owner failed, he was dubbed Sioux. And because he was so special, plans were made for him to become a service dog and companion to a Vietnam veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome.
The same day a representative from the veterans center was going to meet Sioux, the unthinkable happened.
Someone shot and killed Sioux for no apparent reason. Now authorities are offering up to a $5,000 reward for information on who did it.
And his foster caregivers are mourning the loss of not only a beautiful animal, but one that seemed destined to help a troubled vet.
When Olsen and her neighbor first found Sioux, they both had too many dogs themselves to keep him. But her neighbor decided to take him on as a foster dog and look for a good home.
Sioux didn't appear skittish or afraid of people. "He'd look you right in the eye, as if he could see right into your soul," Olsen said.
They felt like an angel had been dropped into their midst, Olsen said, and the two checked everywhere they could for anyone advertising a lost dog.
When it appeared Sioux's owners were not to be found, the two women began thinking Sioux might be a good candidate to be a therapy dog.
Olsen called Bridging the Worlds animal sanctuary in Santa Fe. "They told me that the New Mexico Veterans Integration Center (a homeless-to-independent living transitional facility in Albuquerque) wanted to start a program with assistance dogs," Olsen said.
Richard Baldonado, 57, who had served with the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, was the man hoping to give Sioux "a new lease on life" — and maybe find one for himself as well.
"It was suggested to me at the VA Hospital that a therapy dog would help me with PTSD, nightmares and my tendencies to hibernate," said Baldonado, who lives at the center.
Baldonado said he felt like he already knew Sioux, even though the two had never met, because Olsen kept him in touch with e-mails about Sioux's life.
Olsen and her neighbor were expecting someone from the center to come take a look at Sioux on Monday.
That didn't happen.
"Monday morning I heard banging on my door," Olsen said. "It was my neighbor saying, 'Sioux has blood all over him!' "
Olsen ran next door and found Sioux in the corner of the patio. "He stood up and came over and wagged his tail," she said. But it looked as if a bullet had nicked his ear, and there was a bullet hole in his neck. "He was hemorrhaging clots of blood."
"We both carried him to my van," Olsen said, planning to take him to a veterinarian. But just as they reached Abiquiu Dam, "we looked back and he was gone."
His foster caregiver dug a grave with her tractor, and, after Sioux was buried, they tried to find out what had happened to him.
They followed his tracks across Cañones Creek to about 50 feet from the bridge that crosses the creek on County Road 194. Olsen said it looked as if Sioux was shot while he was in the shallow creek.
"A trail of blood followed his tracks," Olsen said. "There is an unobstructed view of that section of the creek from the bridge. Then he walked up my driveway and crossed 194 to arrive at his home."
Not wanting Sioux to have died in vain, Olsen called Animal Protection of New Mexico, a nonprofit organization in the state since 1979.
"His caregivers didn't realize they could come to an organization like ours right away and we could help them through the process," said Monica Garcia, communications manager. "In a way, they inadvertently destroyed evidence by burying the dog right away and they didn't take pictures of him right away after he was shot."
But the organization is offering up to a $5,000 reward for anyone providing information leading to an arrest and conviction. Callers may dial toll-free at 1-877-5-HUMANE (877-548-6263). All calls are confidential, and callers may remain anonymous.
"As long as the dog was not attacking someone, which is highly unlikely, or destroying property, like killing a sheep, it could be charged as a fourth-degree felony if there's a witness," Garcia said.
Rio Arriba County Deputy James Lujan said it was "pretty common" for dogs to be shot in Rio Arriba County. "It sucks that this happened, especially since it was going to be for a Vietnam vet," said Lujan, who said no one reported the shooting to him. "But we have open range ... If a dog attacks a sheep or cow, once they get that blood, they don't stop.
"A rancher has every right to shoot the dog," Lujan said. "Unfortunately, that might be what happened with that dog. He might even be just playing with the cows, but the rancher doesn't know that. ... That's just a rancher protecting his herd."
Olsen, however, said she and her neighbor feel certain Sioux was not shot by a rancher. "We talked to all the people with cattle in the area, and he wasn't bothering them," Olsen said.
Meanwhile, Baldonado is dealing with the loss of a dog he never even got to meet.
"It was a blow when Susan (Olsen) called to tell me about Sioux," Baldonado said. "It just stopped me in my tracks. I believe that God had put him on my path."
Posted with permission of the Albuquerque Publishing Company.
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