Family Discovers 5-Month-Old Puppy Shot in Head with Arrow, Rescuers Rush To Save Her
WARNING: The following contains graphic images that some viewers will find disturbing.
When you get home and check on your pup, you expect to see a waggy critter who’s overjoyed to have you back home. They often do happy zoomies, run in circles, bark or cry, and go grab their favorite toy: All typical signs of doggy joy.
What you don’t expect to see is your 5-month-old puppy sitting on the back porch with an arrow through her head. But that’s the horrifying scene one family from Calhoun County came home to Jan. 22.
The arrow entered through the bridge of the puppy’s nose and came out between her shoulder blades, the majority of the arrow buried inside the dog. The pup, named “Loca,” was still alive, so she was rushed to the Paws and Claws Animal Clinic.
To see the Paws & Claws Animal Clinic’s original post with photos, click here.
The clinic posted the terrible photos on Facebook with a graphic warning, but the story needs to get out. Whoever did this needs to be found.
“Tonight we received a call we never thought we would get,” their post started. “A family found their recently adopted 5 month old puppy Loca on their back porch shot in the head with an arrow.”
“They rushed her to us and we worked to stabilize her and assess the situation. We we’re shocked when we saw her xrays and saw that the arrow somehow miraculously missed her brain, her esophagus and BARELY missed her spine! She is the luckiest unlucky girl in the world. We ran bloodwork and got her BP down to where we felt safe enough to remove the arrow.”
Fortunately, Loca survived the removal, though part of her nasal cavity has to be reconstructed. If the arrow had been just a smidge to one side or the other, Loca probably would have died.
“Loca update!” the clinic wrote on Jan. 23. “This sweet miracle is a survivor! She is doing AMAZING! Her vitals are perfect and she is bright and alert!”
“We couldn’t be happier to see how well she’s doing. Loca will get to go home tonight and be with her family to finish her recovery. Thank you all so much for the outpouring of love and support! Loca, her family and all of us at Paws & Claws are so grateful and hope this tragedy can help make the laws to protect our animals be re-evaluated and changed. Our animals deserve better and we have to do better. We have to be their voice!”
One of the most harrowing elements of this case is that whoever shot the dog had to have been standing practically in front of the dog. If a person can look into a sweet pup’s eyes and shoot it in cold blood, that doesn’t bode well for anyone’s future.
The other sickening clue was that the arrow looks to be from a beginner’s set, so authorities say that it may have been a young person who committed this atrocity.
“This type of cruelty HAS TO STOP!!!!” the clinic’s post continued. “Loca’s life matters and she deserves justice for such cruelty!”
“Loca was shot in the Calhoun, SC area. Anyone with any information that may help find the person responsible please speak up and reach out to the Calhoun Police Department at (803)874-2741. We have also received word a group of dedicated individuals is offering up to $1500 in a reward for information regarding this incident. JUSTICE FOR LOCA!”
Liftable, a brand of The Western Journal, did reach out to Paws and Claws Animal Clinic for comment. At the time of publication of this article, we have not yet received a reply.
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