A woman in Desert Hot Springs, California, woke up to a horrifying sound on Wednesday.
A dog screaming outside.
The woman promptly called 911 after discovering that the heartbreaking noise was coming from a Chihuahua puppy with an arrow through its neck.
After the sheriff’s office contacted Riverside County Animal Services, an officer for the latter group was on the way to retrieve the wounded pup and get it medical care.
“A sheriff’s deputy picked up the dog, and Animal Services officer Matthew Perez responded and recovered the injured dog from a sheriff’s deputy’s patrol unit,” the Riverside County Animal Services shared on Facebook.
Despite the gruesome injury, the dog — a 4-month-old female Chihuahua — was expected to survive after it received treatment. Somehow, the arrow that was almost as long as the dog itself had missed major arteries.
While everyone is relieved that the dog’s prognosis is good, they’re deeply angered by the incident and hoping for justice as authorities look for the perpetrator.
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“For someone to willfully shoot this poor pup with an arrow is disgusting,” Animal Services Director Erin Gettis said, according to the Facebook post by Riverside County Animal Services.
“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.”
“(The medical staff) did such an amazing job to save this dog’s life,” veterinary technician Emily Ellison said. “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.”
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The puppy has been recovering and getting lots of love as animal services is dealing with a flood of adoption applications.
The group announced that applications were being accepted until Friday morning.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic images that some viewers will find disturbing.
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“We’ve received a tremendous outpour of support and adoption interest for this small but mighty girl!” animal services shared Thursday on Facebook.
“If you are interested in adopting her, please send an email to shelterinfo@rivco.org. We will read through each email to find the best home for this special pup.”
While this little girl has had a rough start in life, it looks as if she should have years of pampering and love ahead of her.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.