A chihuahua puppy in Southern California has survived being shot through her neck with an arrow, after the projectile missed vital arteries.
A woman called 911 on Monday saying she’d found the injured puppy in unincorporated Desert Hot Springs after hearing sounds of an animal “screaming,” according to a news release from Riverside County Animal Services.
Animal services posted a jarring photo to social media that showed the puppy with the arrow still stuck in her neck. But her injuries weren’t as dire as they appeared.
“It was purely a superficial wound,” Ivan Herrera, a veterinary technician who helped treat the puppy, told the Los Angeles Times.
With the arrow now safely removed, the chihuahua’s good spirits have returned.
“She’s lively, wagging her tail like a puppy and barking for our attention,” Herrera said.
Riverside County Department of Animal Services
Veterinary staff and animal services workers are horrified at the possibility that someone may have shot the small dog on purpose.
“She is such a sweet puppy,” veterinary technician Emily Ellison, who is helping with the dog’s treatment, said in the statement from animal services. “I cannot imagine why anyone would do something so terrible to such an innocent creature. It’s very sick.”
Animal services is asking anyone with information about what happened to contact them.
“For someone to willfully shoot this poor pup with an arrow is disgusting,” director Erin Gettis said in the department’s statement. “We are shocked and we hope someone can provide us any information as to who did this.”