Kila, the beautiful Siberian Husky owned by Elaine and Bill Rutter of Saskatchewan, was shot to death at close range three weeks ago after wandering away from the residence the Rutters were renting in town over the winter. It takes a heartless person to shoot and kill an animal as kind and gentle as Kila, said Elaine.Photo supplied.
Elaine Rutter and her husband Bill returned to their hometown near Regina, Sask. last week missing a key member of their family and they remain very upset about it.
Their beloved three-year-old Siberian Husky Kila (pronounced keel-a) was killed when shot at point blank range and dumped on a walking trail up near the town’s industrial park a couple of weeks ago.
“Somebody has to be pretty heartless to do something like this to a beautiful animal,” said Rutter, who spent five months in Osoyoos with her husband and Kila before this incident took place the second weekend in March.
“She was a beautiful dog and to know she died like this is very upsetting.”
The Rutters were renting a home on a vineyard in the town’s north end and Kila, who they brought into their home at three months of age back in 2010, had snuck out of the home a couple of times “but she always came back within a couple of hours.”
“She was a very feisty and very lovable dog,” she said. “It has been said Siberian Huskies don’t make good guard dogs because they’re so friendly and that was certainly the case with Kila. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body.”
On the morning of March 11, Kila took off from the home they were renting once again and they didn’t think anything of it, believing she would return home in a couple of hours.
But when she didn’t return home for two days, they got worried and eventually put up posters around town showing a picture of Kila and offering a $500 reward, said Rutter.
Two days later, they got a call from a young woman walking her dog who found a dead dog in the bushes near the industrial park and thought it might be Kila, said Rutter.
“We headed up there to confirm it was our Kila and unfortunately it was,” she said. “At that point, we didn’t have any clue how she was killed. We were going to get an autopsy done so we left her there because we were very upset.
“The next morning we returned and took a closer look and it was obvious she had been shot. We took her to a local vet and he confirmed she had been shot at very close range. We’re thankful she probably died instantly … the vet told us the bullet didn’t exit and was one of those bullets that explodes and causes so much internal damage,” she said.
Because there wasn’t much blood at the scene, it was “fairly obvious” Kila had been shot somewhere else and dumped in the bush, said Rutter.
Whoever was responsible knew exactly what they were doing as they removed all of Kila’s tags and collars, she said.
“She had enough tags on her they could have contacted us no problem at all,” she said.
“We’ll never know exactly what happened, but to shoot a beautiful animal like this who wouldn’t hurt anyone is very sad.”
This is their third dog who has died tragically so Rutter doesn’t know if she and her husband will be getting another one.
Their previous dog died suddenly during a trip to B.C. several years ago after having stomach problems.
Another dog they owned was attacked by two other large dogs and died as a result of injuries, she said.
“Seems like we have very bad luck with our dogs,” she said. “But this incident should never have happened.”
Despite what has happened with Kila, she said she and her husband thoroughly enjoyed their first winter as snowbirds here in Osoyoos.
They won’t let the actions of one individual ruin those memories or those of Kila, she said.
“She was a wonderful dog and pet and we’re going to miss her a great deal,” she said. “She brought a lot of happiness into our lives so we’re thankful for that.”
