Good Samaritans help save stray cat 'Huerro' shot with crossbow in San Jose
A friendly neighborhood cat is recovering after being shot by a crossbow in San Jose.
His nickname is "Huerro." A woman in San Jose found him on Friday, and ABC7 News spoke with her daughter, Ivory Flores.
"Why would someone do that? I mean, these are poor little animals that can't defend themselves," Flores said.
Ivory's mom posted on Nextdoor that she found Huerro on Friday night but didn't have a car to take him to an emergency vet.
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Sunnyvale resident Allison Fluty saw the post and stepped in to help. Around midnight, she took Huerro to a veterinary hospital. Staff there removed a 6-inch crossbow bolt that went through the base of his tail. Fluty fronted the bill of $1,600.
"I figured, like worst-case scenario, I have six months to pay it off without interest," Fluty said.
Fluty created a GoFundMe to cover the cost, and to help other cats. She's using extra funds to help trap, neuter and return stray cats, some of them are likely Huerro's siblings. Wednesday, she said she trapped 13 cats in the East San Jose neighborhood.
"It's just another reason why I want to get more of the cats fixed in his neighborhood cause like, I don't want there to be more victims of that kind of targeted violence against animals," Fluty said.
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The Flores family said they found the same kind of crossbow bolt that hit Huerro in their backyard on Wednesday morning - it's about the size of a dart.
"Sad that we have people like that in our neighborhood because you know, there's a whole bunch of cats in our neighborhood, so the fact that someone is out there with these intentions is kind of scary," Flores said.
The rescued kittens and cats will receive spay and neuter surgeries at the San Jose Animal Care Center and local clinics.
Huerro is being cared for by the Flores family and is expected to be fully recovered in two weeks.
