Companion dog killed; reward offered

A stray dog named Sioux who had a knack for winning people over and was about to serve as a companion dog for a Vietnam vet was killed Friday for no apparent reason.

The shooting has left the community of Cañones heartbroken and angry.

"He was a beautiful animal," Vietnam veteran Richard Baldonado told KRQE News 13.

"I never met a dog like that," added Susan Olsen, one of Sioux's caretakers. "You caught his eyes, and it was like reading his soul."

But on Nov. 13 Sioux stumbled out of a river near his caretaker's home covered in blood. Sioux was shot in the throat and later died on the way to a veterinary hospital.

No one in the Rio Arriba County community south of Abiquiú Reservoir knows who or why the German shepherd mix was shot. Baldonado got the call that afternoon that Sioux was dead.

"It was a blow," Baldonado, who lives in Albuquerque, said. "It stopped me in my tracks."

Both he and Sioux's caretakers in Cañones have been mourning the death of the year-old dog.

Then on Thursday afternoon Baldonado got some good news which lifted his spirits. He met and was matched with another companion dog named Shilah.

Baldonado hopes to get the dog early next week.

"God is good," Baldonado said. "He put another animal in my life, a companion and someone I can trust and bond with."

Animal Protection of New Mexico is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information on the person responsible for killing Sioux. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-877-5-HUMANE (877-548-6263).