A young raccoon has been euthanized after being shot in the head with a crossbow bolt nearly half a metre inlength near a Maple Ridge high school.

Dr. Alex Walton of the Dewdney Animal Hospital said he was called out to a property meters from Garibaldisecondary on Wednesday, May 3 after a raccoon was seen walking wounded in a backyard. Walton said he hasseen lots of gruesome injuries, but this one was 鈥渜uite a difficult one.鈥�

鈥淚 was actually upset enough that I had a very hard time even editing that,鈥� Walton said. 鈥淚t happened on Wednesday and I couldn鈥檛 even touch them until Friday.鈥�

Walton said the raccoon was sure to die a slow, painful death from the shot because it wasn鈥檛 a typical 鈥渢hroughand through鈥� shot where the arrow can be easily pulled out. The bolt went through the left side of the raccoon鈥檚mouth, behind its jaw and into the rib cage, fracturing two ribs. Although it didn鈥檛 cause a collapsed lung or anyinternal bleeding, it tore a hole in the stomach where the animal was suffering from peritonitis.

His problem with the shot was whoever took it simply left the animal to suffer.

鈥淓very hunter I know is if they take a shot and aren鈥檛 sure, you go and track that animal until you finish it off,鈥� hesaid.

The wildlife group Fur-Bearers is offering a $1,000 cash reward for information that leads to finding the personresponsible for the attack.

There have been other incidences involving raccoons in Maple Ridge over the last few weeks. On the weekend, avideo surfaced in a Facebook group showing a man walking down the street with a dead raccoon flung over hisback. Walton says he has also seen comments on the social media site about people threatening to shoot them.

In January, Marzena Ziccarelli found a dead raccoon in her Albion backyard with a dart sticking out of its back.

The person who fired the crossbow may face charges if found, as it鈥檚 illegal to shoot raccoons out of season.