The man who shot a stray dog with two arrows in Balakong, claims to have acted on impulse to protect his three children.
“It was an instinctive move. The dog appeared scary and it wasn’t like other strays. At least that’s what it seemed to me,” he said yesterday.
The police seized the man’s bow and arrows on Wednesday and questioned him. The man is liable to be charged with mischief for maiming the animal under Section 429 of the Penal Code.
The man is also being investigated under Section 6(1) of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958 for carrying an offensive weapon in public spaces.
Recalling the incident which occurred on Tuesday, the man, whose children are aged four, five and seven, said it was around 8.30 at night when he heard the dog barking and making its way to his driveway.
The man had earlier picked up some books and threw them at the dog to frighten it away. But he said the dog seemed undaunted and began barking aggressively.
“I thought only about the children. In a moment of panic, I took the bow and fired the arrows,” he said.
The man had shot and wounded the dog with two arrows, one hit the dog’s front leg while the other hit the dog’s back.
The dog was rushed to a veterinary clinic by animal activists later for first aid. It was discovered that the dog was an old and partially blind Rottweiler.
“We’ve never had problems with dogs. I even have five dogs at my fruit farm,” he said. “I apologise for my actions. I didn’t know the dog was blind. I had never shot a dog. It’s a sin,” he said.
The wounded dog has been given the name Brianna and has been adopted by an animal activist group, Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) and is now recovering at a veterinary clinic in Subang Jaya.
According to Melinda Joy Gomez, the project manager of MDDB, the dog is severely anaemic and may suffer from tick fever. The veterinarian at the clinic said the dog had been given medication but is poor in health.
“Our priority is saving her, but her blood volume is currently a quarter of a dog’s normal blood level. If it drops further, we will need to perform a blood transfusion,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kajang OCPD Asst Comm Ab Rashid Ab Wahad said that while it is legal to have bows and arrows at home for decorative purposes, it is illegal to bring them out in public.
“Only individuals with valid membership of archery associations or clubs are allowed to go out in public with the sports gear.
“Even so, members are only allowed to carry the gear in public if they are heading to and from the archery grounds,” he said.
