NYC Woman's Dog Survives Being Shot in the Mouth by Ex-Boyfriend Who Beat Her, Authorities Say
The bullet went through Honey's skull and into a muscle in her neck.
— -- A year-old pit bull named Honey survived being shot point blank in the mouth by her owner's ex-boyfriend during an argument at her Brooklyn apartment in New York City, according to Honey's owner and a criminal court complaint.
Honey's owner, Asha Stringfield, 24, told ABC News today that she has a restraining order against her 47-year-old ex-boyfriend, Kenneth White, who she said attacked her after he got annoyed about the food she had at her house and jealous about another male friend of hers. The restraining order was confirmed by court documents obtained by ABC News.
White "repeatedly punched" Stringfield in her head and face, grabbed her by the throat, pulled her off the bed by her hair and pointed a gun to her face, asking her to give him "two reasons not to shoot" her, according to a criminal court complaint filed in Brooklyn Criminal Court.
"He kept repeating, 'You don't love me like I love you,' and telling me that I thought he was stupid and disrespectful," Stringfield said. "After hitting me and making me bleed, he said he was going to take my dog, and he opened the door and Honey came in, and I was so scared."
Stringfield said Honey ran to her and tried to lick her wounds, and she tried to hold Honey away from White.
"He kept telling me to let her go, but I wouldn't and then he shot her straight in the mouth through her head," she said. "I screamed. There was blood everywhere. I was freaking out. I didn't know what to do, but Honey was still alive and choking trying to cough the bullet out.
"My friend woke up and told me to take Honey to the bathroom, so we sat in the shower with the bathroom locked and waited."
White eventually left and Stringfield's cousin called 911 for her.
An NYPD spokesman told ABC News that Stringfield was taken to a local hospital, where she was treated and released the next day. Honey was taken to a BluePearl Veterinary Partners hospital in midtown Manhattan, the NYPD spokeswoman added.
"When Honey came in to the BluePearl Veterinary Partners hospital in Midtown on Sunday, Dr. Alex Schechter was skeptical when told the dog suffered a gunshot wound," a spokesman for BluePearl Veterinary Partners told ABC News in a statement. "Honey was shaking, barking and nervous, but the wound was not obvious.
"But after sedating Honey, Schechter could see a wound inside her mouth. Then when the X-Rays came back, he was astounded. It showed the bullet had entered Honey’s mouth and narrowly missed her brain. The bullet actually went through a portion of Honey’s skull, and lodged in muscle tissue in the back of her neck."
Honey was then transported to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), where a surgeon is assessing the pup, Stringfield said.
A spokeswoman for the ASPCA deferred inquiries about Honey to Stringfield.
Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners Team Leader Mary Santivanez said that the bullet is still lodged inside the young pit bull, and there's a great chance the dog will die if it is removed, according to the criminal complaint.
Stringfield said doctors told her they are monitoring Honey and working to figure out if they should perform the risky surgery.
"Right now, I'm taking it day by day," Stringfield said. "I'm praying for my dog and that things get better. My friends and family have been sending me a lot of prayers and love for Honey and I on Facebook. I just want to get away from here as soon as possible."
White was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment, strangulation, menacing, aggravated cruelty to animals, criminal contempt, and torture and injury to an animal, according to police.
According to court records online, White is being represented by the Brooklyn Defender Services, which did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for additional information such as if he has entered a plea.