Anicira offering $5,000 cash reward after dog shot by bow and arrow

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - Anicira Veterinary Center is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible for critically injuring a dog with a bow and arrow.

On Thursday, June 16, a 5-year-old black and white Pitbull named Keeley was shot through the back with an arrow near her home on Koontz Corner Road in Rockingham County. Her owner said it happened around 8 a.m.

The arrow passed through her back, shattering a vertebra, but just missing her heart and spine by inches.

“That little process that’s broken is not a working part of the vertebrae, so it’s not going to hinder her ability to move. It could have potentially caused a bit of nerve damage,” Candice Whetzel, a veterinary technician at Anicria Veterinary Center, said.

Keeley underwent emergency surgery at Anicira Veterinary Center. While the shelter says she experienced significant pain and heavy bleeding due to her injury, she is currently in stable condition.

“We’ve seen animals with worse wounds, but they have been inflicted by other animals,” Whetzel said. “This is the first time since I’ve been at Anicira for 3.5 years that I’ve seen a wound that’s been inflicted on an animal by a human.”

Even through the chaos, Whetzel said Keeley’s tail kept waging.

Studies have shown a direct link between cruelty to animals and violence towards humans. Abuse of animals is linked to child abuse, domestic abuse, elder abuse, and other violent behaviors.

Anicira says this connection, often referred to as “The Link,” makes it vitally important that cruelty towards animals is taken seriously by the Rockingham County community.

If you have any information related to this incident, please contact the Rockingham County Sherriff’s Office at (540) 564-3800.