AP Briefs

A chihuahua puppy found shot through the neck with an arrow in Southern California was expected to survive after veterinarians removed the projectile, authorities said.

A woman reported to 911 that she found the wounded dog Monday in a neighborhood near the city of Desert Hot Springs after hearing the puppy “screaming,” Riverside County Animal Services said in a statement.

A sheriff’s deputy picked up the 4-month-old female and transferred it to an animal services officer who brought the pup to the Coachella Valley Animal Campus.

Veterinary staff determined that the arrow did not strike the puppy’s vital arteries and it was removed.

“For someone to willfully shoot this poor pup with an arrow is disgusting,” Animal Services Director Erin Gettis said in the statement. “We are shocked and we hope someone can provide us any information as to who did this.”

Gettis said the agency will continue to treat the puppy and work on finding her a home.

Veterinary technician Emily Ellison said the puppy is affectionate.

“I cannot imagine why anyone would do something so terrible to such an innocent creature. It’s very sick,” Ellison said.

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Angel Ramos-Corrales, 19, of Riverside was sentenced for a February assault during which he brutalized his 4-month-old puppy named Canelo, breaking its skull and ribs, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.

“The dog’s injuries caused it to continuously fall headfirst, and Ramos-Corrales recorded a video of the injured puppy and posted it on his Instagram account,” the statement said.

The same day, Ramos-Corrales slit the dog’s throat, leaving a two-inch gap, and posted a Snapchat video showing Canelo lying on a bathroom floor during which Ramos-Corrales said “I’m cold-hearted” and kicked the unconscious puppy, prosecutor said.

Corrales was taken into custody by police following complaints by people who saw the video.

Officers found Ramos-Corrales with fresh blood stains on his clothes and fresh cut wounds on his hands, and there were blood spatters in a bathroom and bedroom, according to the criminal complaint.

Ramos-Corrales said the dog had become “moody” and had nipped him, “which caused him to lose control,” the complaint said.

“Ramos-Corrales called himself a ‘cold blooded killer’ and said he could not stop himself from hurting the dog,” according to the complaint.

The puppy had to be euthanized.

Ramos-Corrales told police that he had smoked marijuana all day, according to a court document that indicated he also may have used alcohol and methamphetamine.

The document, which laid out the government’s sentencing position, says Ramos-Corrales brutalized the dog for two hours, “reveled heartlessly in exacting mortal wounds to Canelo, gave no aid to Canelo in his suffering, and cursed Canelo as he lay dying.”

Corrales pleaded guilty in June to one count of animal crushing, which involves causing serious injury to an animal causing extreme physical pain, long-term damage or risk of death.

AP | Contributed

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The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said residents of the Sunrise Palms Condominium Community in Palm Springs contacted authorities Monday morning when they spotted the mountain lion in a back yard.

Fish and Wildlife officials responded alongside Palm Springs Police and animal control officers to tranquilize the cougar, which was found in a tree.

Officials said the feline was found to be underweight and injured.

“The decision was to guard it and relocate it but after looking at the health of the lion, it was really emaciated. Looked like he got hit by a car possibly because all the nail beds were fractured,” Fish and Wildlife lieutenant supervisor Kyle Chang told KESQ-TV. “I think that it came down here probably hunting because it’s a juvenile smaller cat. It might have gotten kicked out of its territory — home territory and it’s looking for its own territory.”

Chang said the mountain lion was taken to a rehab facility in San Diego and will be released back into the wild once it has recovered.

Ben Hooper | Contributed

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