Owner could face cruelty charges after dog shot with arrow

Authorities in Lapeer County are seeking animal cruelty charges against a dog owner after his retriever was found with an arrow in the top of her head, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The dog, named Gemma, was found Monday in North Branch by a construction worker. The arrow was lodged above her left eye and barely missed the dog’s brain and optic nerve. It was later removed by a veterinarian.

“It’s a miracle. It missed everything important by millimeters,” Lapeer County chief animal control officer Aimee Orn told the newspaper for a story Friday.

Gemma’s owner told investigators he shot the dog last weekend with a crossbow after she behaved aggressively toward a second dog he owned at his Goodland Township home, north of Detroit.

The retriever was driven April 28 to a rural area and shot with the crossbow, the 28-year-old owner said. The man added that he went to his truck to get something to bury the dog, but Gemma was gone when he returned to the spot where she was shot.

“There are too many other options these days if you don’t want a dog other than taking it out in a field and shooting it,” Orn said.

The dog is recovering from her injuries and is not expected to have long-term effects from the arrow, Orn added. (AP)