Safe Hunting?
Dog Survives Arrow Through Head
CRYSTAL CITY, MO-October 23, 2003 - This wasn't a wild or
crazy kind of dog - just lucky.
Luther, a black Labrador, was found on a Jefferson County
road with an arrow sticking through his head. He was expected to recover.
Authorities believe a hunter may have intentionally shot
the dog with a bow-and-arrow, the tip going in below the right ear and
poking out on the left side of the head.
Since the arrow narrowly missed the brain and spine, folks
around here have taken to calling the dog "Lucky Luther."
The dog was carried into the Jones Animal Health Clinic in
Crystal City the evening of Oct. 9. The county sheriff's department is
investigating.
"This was clearly intentional. It would be a pretty far
stretch to mistake a black Lab for a deer," said Dr. Thomas Butch Jones, the
veterinarian who treated Luther.
The resident who found Luther decided to keep him, Jones
said.
Judging by how the arrow was situated, Jones said a hunter
may have shot Luther at close range, worried the dog would scare away deer.
He said he treats several pets each year that have been
maimed by hunters, often on purpose.
"A lot of hunters take the hunt as seriously as a
religion, and anything that gets in their way is going to get blasted to
kingdom come," Jones said.