After a day of rambling around, we returned to find a wounded dog at the home of the family friends hosting us. He had run off in the morning to points unknown, and apparently caught a few pellets of #4 buckshot from an irate neighbor. I don't know whether the dog was just exploring, or chasing chickens, or being over-exuberantly friendly, or what. In any case, I was an assistant nurse in an impromptu gunshot wound treatment.
The owners had washed the blood off the fur around the wounds, and trimmed away the fur that was in the way. We don't yet know how severe the internal wounds are, but the external wounds have been cleaned and dressed with an herbal poultice of comfrey leaves, yarrow, witch hazel, chamomile, and some tea tree essential oil, then covered with comfrey leaves, and then wrapped in a loose bandage to finish the job. Hopefully infection will be avoided, and internal wounds are not severe.
My assistance was largely offering optimistic words and the occasional extra hand, especially when lifting a large dog for easier access to wounds for those doing the cleaning and dressing. I can't take much credit for anything beyond that. The dog is now resting in the sun and hopefully on the road to recouperation.
I doubt the dog was causing trouble, but I ought to reserve judgement on that matter due to lack of information. In any case, good neighbors should try to find out whose golden retriever is running about before reaching for the 12-gauge solution unless extreme circumstances suggest otherwise.