Unexplained shooting of dog in Lonehill

Lonehill resident Elena Hannay is devastated after her dog was shot dead by an unknown culprit on a local road last weekend.

At about 7:30pm on 22 April, Hannay was walking her 4-year-old female Weimaraner, named Luna, along Concourse Crescent for their daily outing.

“Because she’s such a big dog, she needs to run [to get all her energy out],” Hannay explained. “And because she’s too strong to control on a leash, and always came back to me when I called her, she wasn’t wearing one.”

As the pair were walking down Concourse Crescent, approaching the intersection with Alliway Way, a car drove past at a slow speed and then disappeared out of sight. Luna was walking in front of Hannay, and disappeared from view when the dog ran around a corner.

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Hannay said she heard a noise, sort of like the backfiring of an exhaust pipe, a short distance away. She repeatedly called Luna’s name, but when the canine did not return, Hannay rounded the corner to look for her. There, she found a group of people and asked them if they had seen a dog go by.

“One of them said to me, ‘that dog?’, and pointed to where people were standing around. There was Luna, lying on the side of the road. She had been shot just under her nose, and was already dead.”

With the help of people at the scene, Hannay took Luna to the Fourways Veterinary Hospital where she was pronounced dead due to hemorrhaging from a wound to her head.

This was a particularly painful blow to Hannay, as she and her husband, Butch had adopted Luna together a few years ago, and she had grown particularly close to the animal after her husband passed away at the end of last year.

“I felt an emptiness when I found out [that Luna was gone]. I’ve just lost my husband, and now I’ve also lost my best friend, my companion,” said Hannay tearfully. “I need to thank Lonehill residents and my neighbours, who were so helpful and kind towards me [after it happened]. I’m particularly thankful to Joanne and David Gould, who were so helpful.”

According to a statement released by the Lonehill Residents Association, the organisation is aware of the incident and the matter is under investigation by members of the Douglasdale police. If anyone has information about the incident, they are urged to contact Douglasdale police on 011 699 1333 or the national Crime Line 10111.