A 4-month-old Chihuahua is lucky to be alive after being shot with an arrow in California. Police rescued the puppy, a victim of the shocking act of animal cruelty, after a woman in Desert Hot Springs called the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department saying she had been awoken by a “screaming” dog.
An officer with the Riverside County Department of Animal Services was alerted and went out to the scene where he found the injured puppy before handing the dog over to Animal Services officer Matthew Perez who rushed the puppy to Coachella Valley Animal Campus for treatment.
This happened today — and our team saved the dog’s life. Thank you so much to @RSO for major assistance! Terrible act! @RivCoNow #Chihuahua #veterinarycare #animalcruelty pic.twitter.com/04R5CLgnkU
— RivCO animalSERVICES (@helpinRIVcoPETS) May 23, 2022
“He held the dog and comforted it,” Animal Services said of Officer Perez. The Chihuahua was sedated so that she could be examined. Fortunately, an X-ray of the arrow revealed that it had not hit any “vital arteries” and they could remove it from the dog’s neck.
Thanks to the emergency surgery she is “expected to survive.”
“It’s amazing to see her affection, despite what occurred. She is such a sweet puppy. I cannot imagine why anyone would do something so terrible to such an innocent creature. It’s very sick,” Veterinary technician Emily Ellison said in a quote published on Coachella Valley Animal Campus’ Facebook page.
“For someone to willfully shoot this poor pup with an arrow is disgusting,” Animal Services Director Erin Gettis said in a statement on the Riverside County Department of Animal Services website. “We are shocked and we hope someone can provide us any information as to who did this. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to treat this puppy and work on finding her a suitable home.”
Since her rescue last week (May 23, 2022), the animal shelter has received an outpouring of support for the small dog. They have received many queries from potential adopters, writing: “We’ve received a tremendous outpour of support and adoption interest for this small but mighty girl!” The application window is now closed and they will be selecting a family soon.
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