Credit Mark Buehrle for save after dog’s recovery

December 24, 2010 11:00AM

Debbie Bray Chesterfield Mo. watches as her children Jordan (left) Haley play with Shelby Sheltie thwas found with an arrow

Debbie Bray of Chesterfield, Mo., watches as her children Jordan (left) and Haley play with Shelby, a Sheltie that was found with an arrow sticking out of her abdomen. | AP

Updated: April 19, 2011 5:24AM

A dog found wandering in the St. Louis area with an arrow sticking from her abdomen has a new home, thanks to the generosity of star Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle.

Buehrle, who lives in St. Charles, Mo., volunteered to pay the veterinary bills of Shelby, the stricken Sheltie, after media reports of the pooch’s plight. The bill was almost $3,000.

Shelby’s story drew nearly 80 applications from people interested in taking in the dog whose well-being now rests with the family of Jeffrey Bray, a St. Louis hospital anesthesiologist who was moved by the dog’s ordeal.

Shelby, rescued Dec. 9, managed to bounce back after emergency surgery that fixed damage to her intestines.

After getting a Google e-mail update on Shelby’s recovery, Bray forwarded the photo to his wife, Debbie, and their three children, ages 26, 18, and 16. The middle child begged her mother to apply to adopt the dog, unaware the mom already had done just that.

“We were all thinking the same thing,” Debbie Bray said, noting that the family felt the time was right to take in another pet after their 14-year-old Siberian husky, Nikki, died last Christmas.

The Brays got the nod from Hope Animal Rescues of Alton, where Jackie Spiker said those reviewing the applications felt drawn to the fact that the Brays always had adopted from shelters and “understand the importance of rescues.”

Spiker invited the Brays to visit Shelby last weekend to see how the family and dog interacted. All five family members came.

“They all got down on the floor with her, loved her and gave her kisses,” she said.

Shelby got her new digs this week.

“We feel very fortunate to have Shelby in our family,” Debbie Bray said.

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