A pet owner is warning people of the dangers of firing a pellet gun after her dog was hit by one.

Lisa Wood and her mother Heather were left with a £150 bill after Pasha was injured while in the back garden of their home.

It happened at about 10pm on March 20, but it was not until they took him to Borden Lane Veterinary Surgery five days later to find out what had caused the wound on his shoulder that they discovered the truth.

Warning: graphic image below

Miss Wood, 28, of Manor Grove, Sittingbourne, said: “We let him out before we went to bed. Then we heard him yelp and he was covered in blood.

“It was an open wound and bleeding quite badly.

“We thought he had run into something. We were cleaning it every day but he was getting worse and he wasn’t himself.

“We took him to the vets and they did an X-ray, which revealed a pellet inside him.

“They said it would work its way out or it may stay in there but because they’re not made of metal these days it shouldn’t affect him.”

The part time Royal Mail postwoman, who is also a dance choreographer for Michael Jackson impersonator Ben Bowman, said the three-year-old Alaskan malamute, crossed with a border collie, was fortunate not to have been killed.

She added: “It’s not near any major organs. He was very lucky. But that’s not the point, it’s the fact someone has done this.

“I’d say it’s either kids or teenagers who fired it, not necessarily aiming it at the dog but it could have ricocheted off of somewhere.

“I just want people to know the dangers of using these types of guns and to be aware of the damage they can cause.”

The incident was reported to police and referred to the RSPCA.