ALAMOSA — A month after being shot while responding to a call, Alamosa Police Officer Mollee Heeney is “doing good” according to her father, Steve Heeney.

On the afternoon of Oct. 27, Mollee Heeney, a 25-year-old officer and two-year veteran with the APD was shot twice while responding to a call of “a fight or disturbance in progress” in the 1200 block of Denver Street. According to a press conference held the day after, upon arriving on the scene, a juvenile suspect produced a handgun and shot Mollee Heeney twice, once in the leg and once in the shoulder.

According to Steve Heeney, the shot to the leg shattered her femur, resulting in surgeons placing a steel rod in her leg. The femur is the longest, strongest bone in the human body that connects the hip to the lower leg. The second bullet struck her in her shoulder but “didn’t cause as much damage,” he said.

“That (shattered femur) is where the major recovery is going to take place,” Steve Heeney said.

During surgery, the surgeons made the decision to not remove either bullet.

“The doctors didn’t want to cause any more tissue or nerve damage, so they left the bullets in her. She’ll carry those with her for the rest of her life.”

Otherwise, he said Mollee is mostly “bored” and wishes to return to work.

However, that may be a while.

Mollee Heeney is not yet cleared to put weight on her leg. That will be reassessed in the next few weeks. Once the bone can hold more weight, physical therapy will likely begin.

“She’s a real trooper and, knowing her, she’ll probably break records once she gets started,” Steve Heeney said.

She currently is recuperating at her parents’ house in Colorado Springs with her two “farm” dogs Lola (a blue healer mix) and Koda (a black lab mix). Mollee Heeney rescued both dogs from the shelter in Alamosa.

“We’ve got five dogs in the house now,” Steve Heeney said, “So, that’s a bit of a challenge. But (those dogs) are what get her through a lot of things.

“They’re kind of support dogs.”

Steve Heeney describes his daughter as a “hometown” girl. She attended Adams State University where she played soccer.

“She loves it there,” he said. “That’s why she stayed around. She’s actually been with the police force for about three-and-a-half or four years. She started on an internship and then got the only full-paid scholarship to the police academy that year. She worked for the police department while she was going to school.”

Steve Heeney said he and his wife are “good” and understand that their daughter’s recovery will take time.

“It’s going to be a long recovery but it’s so much better than it could have been,” he said. “We’re glad she’s alive. And I can’t say enough about the whole police force there. We couldn’t be happier with the friends she’s made. And Mollee is definitely anxious to get back to work.”

APD also is supporting her through recovery.

“Mollee is part of our law enforcement family,” said Alamosa Police Chief Ken Anderson. “We’re supporting her through her recovery and hope she’s back on her feet soon.”

Anyone wishing to donate to support Mollee Henney’s Recovery Support Fund may do so by going to gofundme.com/f/officer-mollee-heeney-recovery-fund.