HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Kelly Peet saw her shooter minutes before a bullet shattered her jaw.

Last month, Peet was walking her dogs and taking photos of an abandoned log cabin about a mile outside of Pliny in Putnam County, when she was shot in the face.

The bullet from a high-powered rifle shattered her jaw, grazed her voice box and larynx and lodged against her aorta.

The shot came from a home adjacent to the property, about 2,000 feet away. Peet saw a man on the house's porch just before the shooting, which occurred about 10 a.m. on April 4.

The man who shot her told police he thought he was shooting at coyotes.

If she had passed out, or if the bullet had hit just a fourth of an inch closer to her aorta, she would have died, said Robert Peet, Kelly Peet's father.

Once Peet realized she had been shot, she walked to the house, not realizing that is where the bullet came from.

"God helped me get up and walk," she said. "I know that I am alive to do God's will and that he has a plan for me here on Earth."

The girlfriend of the man who shot her called an ambulance, and Peet was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in Huntington. There, she underwent two surgeries to repair damage to her throat and wire her jaw shut.

Once in the hospital, Kelly Peet's ordeal continued. She suffers from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, which can cause severe allergic reactions to common chemicals, foods, pesticides and medication.

MCS severely restricts what foods, she can ingest. Medicines, chemicals, pesticides, perfume, certain lotions and the scent of dryer sheets can cause an allergic reaction.

Peet has also struggled with her feeding tubes. The tube has come out twice, she said.

Peet underwent surgery Tuesday to insert a tube in her side that feeds directly to her stomach. The surgery was her third since the shooting.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Department is still investigating the shooting, chief deputy Stan Booth said earlier this week. So far it appears to have been an accident, he said.

Peet is not convinced. She says she was wearing a yellow sweatshirt and pink backpack and should have been easily visible.

"I've thought a lot about this," she said. "I was in the Army, I know how to shoot well. I could not have made that shot without a scope.

"[There's a] one in a million chance that shot accidentally got me," she said.

Now, Peet communicates by writing messages on napkins and in a growing collection of notebooks.

She isn't sure she will be able to swallow or speak again. She said doctors are optimistic that her throat and voice box will heal.

Peet said she is taking her recovery one step at a time.

"[It's] too overwhelming to do other than that," she said. "Up until a week ago I didn't know if I was going to live through it."

"[The] next step is to go home," she said.

An amateur photographer, Peet wants to turn pro and was working toward that goal when she was shot.

Her work is available at www.puppymatrix.com or www.kellypeet.com.

She says she has no insurance, and any donations to help pay medical expenses would be appreciated.

To contact the family, call Robert Peet at 304-444-5609.

Reach Veronica Nett at veroni...@wvgazette.com

 or 304-348-5113.