GRAPHIC PHOTOS

Arrow

Tuesday - May 19, 2020

Soulshine Wildlife Center has quickly become known for the work we do with raccoons, more specifically adult raccoons. We help these animals for a variety of reasons, one of which being that they don't really have many other options. Raccoon care is expensive, time consuming, space consuming, veterinary care is difficult to find, and there are human health risks...but they are still animals who need and deserve just as much help as any other living species and unfortunately they are the target of a lot of ignorant thoughts and cruel actions.

Yesterday we received a call about a raccoon with an arrow pierced all the way through it. Unfortunately this isn't the first Animal Cruelty case we've encountered, but it is the first of this sort.

The woman who called us is a fellow raccoon enthusiast who received a message online asking if she knew of anyone who could help in this situation. The raccoon was found in the city...he was not the victim of a poor shot of a hunter, but instead suffered from the deliberate action of hatred from humans. Something we will never understand.

We had over 30 calls yesterday, along with seven intakes all requiring emergency care, two of which needing immediate veterinary attention. "Arrow", named by his rescuer, was our first priority and we are thankful to have had a fellow raccoon lover available to help capture him while we handled another case.

Upon arriving to his rescuer's home, we learned that there was going to be no safe way to transport Arrow in a crate as we risked causing even more injury. We were able to move him into the back of the Soulshine vehicle and he quickly decided he did not want to be in the far back, climbing over the seats to sit on the floor. Blood seeping out of him as he panted in fear and pain, our hearts broke as we looked at this helpless creature who had been the subject of cruel intentions.

We are incredibly thankful to the staff at Cedar Animal Hospital for their continued support with our mission in helping wildlife as they shifted their schedules to accommodate our emergency case. Carrying Arrow into the Hospital, a wave of thoughts and emotions circled my mind as I silently stressed over what we would uncover upon seeing his x-rays.

As unfortunate as the circumstance was, Arrow had some form of luck on his side...no organs, arteries, or bones were punctured! This likely would not have been the case had he been shot with an arrow having broadhead blades.

After unscrewing the tip, the Doctor was able to safely remove the entire arrow without causing any additional damage!

Arrow had an antibiotic injection that will last two weeks and he is now comfortable on pain meds and cbd oil. He'll be hanging out here at Soulshine throughout his recovery and he will then be released at his rescuer's beautiful property to live out the remaining of his well deserved years!

An animal cruelty report will be filed and although a fine is nowhere close to being a fair trade off for torturing an animal, we are at least hopeful the person who did this will think twice before committing such actions in the future. We also want there to be some form of documentation for this evil event. Whoever you are...be a better person.

As you can imagine, emergency veterinary visits, x-rays, anesthesia, antibiotics, pain medications, follow-up veterinary appointments, supplements, and a healthy diet are a big financial hit for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

All donations made on Facebook come directly to us (with no fees taken out) and for those who prefer to mail their donations, our mailing address is: PO Box 354, Sparta, MI 49345

Thank you for your continued support in what we do here at Soulshine. Your generosity is what allows us to help the animals who would otherwise have nowhere else to go. Thank you for giving us this amazing opportunity! We couldn't do any of this without you.