Christina Wright's eight-pound Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix, Pua, survived being shot last month in Kihei, but the two-year-old dog's recovery has come at a steep price: a $10,000 veterinary bill Wright says she cannot pay. Veterinarians pulled a metal-looking object from Pua's side after the shooting, and Wright is now demanding accountability from Maui police while she scrambles to cover the cost of her dog's care.
A Shot, A Scramble, And A Dog Fighting For Her Life
According to Hawaii News Now, Pua's injuries went through her chest, diaphragm, pancreas, liver and colon — a cascade of internal damage from whatever struck her. Wright rushed Pua to the vet immediately after the shooting, and the dog has since survived surgery to remove the object lodged in her side. Wright said she knows who is responsible, telling the station she saw the guy next door coming from her property, gesturing and yelling with something in his hand.
An unidentified witness backed up part of her account, saying he heard the pop and heard the dog Pua crying and barking right after. That same witness said he saw a man speed-walking away with a black air handgun in his right hand. The station's report does not independently verify the weapon or the shooter's identity beyond those accounts.
Police Investigation And An Uncharged Neighbor
The Maui Humane Society said the Maui Police Department is handling the case, and arrest records show a man was arrested last week on suspicion of cruelty to animals before being released pending further investigation. Wright's neighbor has not been charged in connection with the case, and the station is not naming him because no charges have been filed against him. It remains unclear whether the man arrested is the same neighbor Wright says she saw leaving her property.
Under Hawaii law, a person commits first-degree cruelty to animals if they intentionally or knowingly torture, mutilate or poison, or cause the torture, mutilation or poisoning of, a pet animal or equine, according to a statute excerpt published by the Hawaii State Legislature. The offense is classified as a class C felony, carrying a maximum five-year prison sentence. Separately, Hawaii law requires that a licensed veterinarian who has reasonable cause to believe an animal in their care was a victim of animal cruelty has a duty to promptly report the event, per state statute.
A Bill She Says She Cannot Afford
Wright said she lives paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford the veterinary bill now facing her. Her friends created a GoFundMe page to help cover Pua's medical costs as the little dog continues to recover from her injuries. Wright is pressing for justice in the case even as the investigation into who shot her dog remains open.
Shootings involving small pets have surfaced elsewhere this year as well. In a separate case out of Lee County in August, a man was arrested after allegedly shooting a neighborhood cat with a BB gun, with neighbors telling Local 12 that the cat, named Tubby, turned up limping with a broken leg hours after an air gun was allegedly fired. For Wright, the focus for now remains on Pua's recovery and on getting answers from Maui police about what happened in her own Kihei neighborhood.
