Diablo is a one-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier in Fort Worth, TX, who needs $2,000 for emergency surgery.

Shayla P., her children, and their dear dog, Diablo, are traumatized. "It's been a nightmare," Shayla tells Waggle.

Earlier this month, Shayla says Diablo, and his doggie brother, got out of the yard when a neighbor accidentally left the gate open. Shayla and her kids drove around looking for them. They found Diablo's brother, got him in the car, and continued to search for Diablo. Shayla will never forget what happened next. "We heard gunshots! The police pulled up behind us and told us we needed to go because there was a man in the neighborhood shooting at dogs," she says.

Panicked, Shayla left but had a terrible feeling. She continued driving through the neighborhood, calling Diablo's name. Then she found him! "I saw him laying in someone's yard. I called him, and he started crying, trying to walk to me. He was bleeding. I was crying and thanking God I found him," Shayla says.

Shayla rushed Diablo to an animal hospital. She says veterinarians discovered Diablo was shot multiple times. One bullet grazed his face, another went through his leg, fracturing a bone. Diablo needs emergency orthopedic surgery to fix the injury. The medical team at Richmond Road Animal Hospital will place a plate in his leg so it can heal properly.

Police are investigating the shooting while Shayla and her children are trying to get over the shock of what happened. "My kids cried themselves to sleep the night he was shot," she says.

Diablo is part of their family. Shayla rescued Diablo and his brother when they were puppies. "He is such a caring dog. He loves the attention that he gets from all of the kids and being spoiled by them. He sleeps with the children and cries in the morning when they leave for school. He waits by the door and knows when it's time for them to come home," Shayla says.

Shayla is struggling to pay for Diablo's surgery. She lost her job because of COVID, and it's been a tough few months. "I'm reaching out to anyone that can help us because my babies are very destroyed by this, and I know that I can't fix it alone."