Dog survives being shot in head with an arrow
Humane Society offering reward

Dr. Cody Balok, left, examines "Easton" before pulling an arrow from the dog's head with Dr. Jessica Balok at the Cedar Animal Medical Center Friday. Easton survived and was named after the brand of arrow that went through his head. The Humane Society is offering a $1,000 reward for information about who shot the dog. (Photo by John A. Bowersmith/Independent)

By Leslie Wood
Staff Writer

GALLUP — A Gallup homeowner awoke to find a stray dog with an arrow lodged through its head resting on her back porch.

The young adult dog, tentatively named Easton after the brand of hunting arrow, was originally reported to McKinley County animal control officers at about 8:30 a.m. on Friday as a stray.

Officers Romie Calderon and Edward Becenti cornered the Australian Shephard mix in the backyard of the 1925 Milda St. residence and lassoed it around the waist to transport it safely into a nearby van.

"There was no resistance at all," Calderon said of the dog who remained calm despite its injury. "It was functioning well and was conscious."

Cedar Animal Medical Center doctors determined the arrow lodged underneath muscle inside the dog's head and did not puncture its brain.

"It didn't look like it missed the brain, but it did," Cosy Balok, director for the Humane Society, said.

Veterinarians removed the arrow from the dog which remains in stable condition at the animal hospital.

"It's awake and should be OK," Balok said.

The dog is expected to require about a week to recuperate and will be available for adoption, if it is not claimed by an owner.

Balok said the Humane Society is offering an award of $1,000 to anyone who provides information that leads the arrest and conviction of the individual who harmed the dog.

"We've dealt with animals with arrows inside them, but none with an arrow in its head," she said.