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Friday, May 6, 2005
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Canine survivor needs home Dog could use some love after being struck by arrow Staff Writer An arrow found Bow, now Bow needs a loving home.
Dispatch readers may recall the story about the cat that survived being shot with an arrow through the abdomen in Brainerd last July. The cat, named Lucky by its rescuer, recovered from its injuries and many generous people donated cat toys, cards and monetary donations to help pay the cat's more than $1,100 veterinary bill.
Now a stray dog has survived being shot with a three-bladed razor sharp broadhead hunting arrow and the Baxter veterinarian who is treating the dog hopes to find him a loving home.
"He's so friendly, I think he's going to find a home fast," said Walker Brown, a veterinarian with Animal Care Center in Baxter.
Sue McPherson, a Pillager woman who takes in rescued horses, said the dog, covered in dried blood, ran up to her while she was doing chores last Thursday night at her ranch. The dog was obviously injured, but appeared to be happy and was wagging his tail.
"He ran up to me like he knew me and leaned against my leg," said McPherson. "I said, 'OK, I have to do something here.'"
McPherson, who thought the dog had been in a fight or hit by a car, brought the stray dog into Brown's vet clinic last Friday and offered to pay the entire bill, even though it wasn't her dog. She had tried, without success, to find the dog's owner in her neighborhood.
"She didn't have a lot of money because of the type of rescue operation she has but she wanted to do all she
could for the stray dog," said Brown. "She has a wonderful heart trying to help this stray dog."
When Brown first began examining the dog, he thought the male shepherd cross had been injured by a stick or maybe had been in a fight with another dog. But after clipping away at the dog's fur around the wounds, he discovered entrance and exit wounds that looked like perfect three-pronged stars, an injury consistent with a hunting arrow. The arrow appeared to have entered on the left side of the dog's neck, traveled underneath his back muscle and then hit the underside of the dog's shoulder blade as it exited out the right side of the dog's back. The arrow caused major soft tissue damage to the dog but miraculously did not strike any major arteries or organs.
"If it would have been an inch lower it would have hit the spine," said Brown, of the arrow. "Two inches lower it would have entered the chest cavity and the dog wouldn't have survived at all. This dog is extremely lucky and he's just a sweetheart. He's a very tough dog."
"We were totally shocked at what the injury actually was," said McPherson. "It's about the most disgusting thing I've ever heard of. It was at such velocity it went right through him. How gross is that? That's pretty terrifying that someone is out there shooting animals with a compound bow."
Brown named the lucky dog Bow. He's been caring for the dog for the past week at his Baxter clinic. Bow has been on antibiotics and is now being slowly weaned off pain medications. Brown said he stitched the wounds closed except for a small temporary plastic drainage tube that runs the length of the arrow wound, sticking out both ends. This will allow the wound to heal so blood clots and infections won't pool inside Bow's body.
Brown, who is a board member of Heartland Animal Rescue Team, said that $200 from the Abby Fund at HART was used to help pay for Bow's medical care while the Animal Care Center paid for the rest of Bow's care. The Abby Fund on a case-by-case basis will pay for veterinary diagnosis and initial medication for an injured stray or abandoned dog for whom no one is responsible. The fund requires the dog to become a HART animal and adopted out through the shelter.
Bow, who is estimated to be about 1-1/2 to 2 years old, will soon be available for adoption through HART. Brown said Bow will be moved to HART Friday but there may be a 10-day waiting period until he can be adopted.
Brown said he and the rest of the staff at the animal clinic have fallen in love with Bow. They all volunteer to take him outside three times a day, playing with him in the grass.
"He's trained, he sits and stays," said Brown, of Bow. "He loves to lick your face. He's wonderful."
Brown said Bow is expected to make a complete recovery. He said he hopes this situation will remind pet owners to keep their pets safe in their home or yard so other animals won't have to suffer like Bow.
"It's rewarding in cases like this to help a stray dog and work with the animal shelter and have a happy ending to a scary situation," said Brown.
McPherson's daughter joked that Bow must be able to read. The dog must have read the McPherson's ranch sign before he ran into their yard. The sign says, "Great Expectations Second Chance Ranch."
"He was too nice of a dog not to help," said McPherson.
JODIE TWEED can be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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