The one-year-old Chihuahua named Diego survived, but will carry a scar on his jaw. The dog’s owner David Pyles said he let Diego go outside then heard him yelp, he went out the front door and said he found an arrow lying on the ground.
Pyles said he took the dog to a veterinarian who gave Diego a shot for the pain. He said the wound did not require any stitches because the arrow glanced off of the dog’s jawbone, but the area was red and swollen.
He was alarmed to learn this was the third local animal shot by arrows in the last five months.
“The penalty for shooting a domestic animal should be more than a misdemeanor,” Pyles said.
An animal control officer with the city of Newark is investigating the shooting and took the arrow as evidence. Pyles said he rescued the Chihuahua and another young mix breed German Sheppard over the last five months and said he is upset anyone would be sick enough to shoot one with an arrow.
In April a dog and cat were both shot with arrows. The dog named Lady was shot in the face in her pen beside a house on Oak Street. She survived and was adopted by a Newark police officer. The next day two miles across town a cat was seen by its owner with an arrow sticking out of its side. The owner tried to rescue it, but said it ran under the porch and they never saw it again.
Newark police said the person or persons responsible could be charge with animal cruelty. No one has been charged the three incidents.
UPDATE:
A man turned himself in to Newark police officers Saturday claiming he is the one who shot a Chihuahua in the face last week. He said he believed the dog to be a raccoon.
The dog’s owner had let the it out in his yard. Shortly after, he found the dog in pain after being shot with a bolt.
Newark Sgt. Clint Eskins said officers took the man’s statement and passed it to Newark Animal Control Officer Toby Wills, who passed it to the city’s law director to pursue prosecution.
(NBC4i - Aug 23, 2016)
