Local family of dog struck by arrow speaks out about traumatic experience

Greece, N.Y. (WHAM) — The family of 5-year-old Bogart, a dog that was shot with a crossbow arrow in Greece over the weekend, is grateful he’s alive after a shocking incident they never could have imagined.

It was a normal Saturday morning for the LaLoggia family.

“My husband took him for a walk, and there’s (Adeline) Park right down the street from our house. They were heading back; it was towards the end of their walk,” said Brenda LaLoggia, Bogart’s owner.

Suddenly, chaos ensued.

“He said he heard something hit a tree, and then the arrow hit Bogart,” Brenda said.

The arrow hit Bogart in the torso.

“He was in surgery for about three hours,” Brenda explained. “Bogart bit half of the arrow off himself, and then my husband was just trying to stop the bleeding.”

Greece police say 56-year-old James Smith and 45-year-old Linnette Torres were doing target practice with a crossbow in their backyard when the dog was hit.

Both were arrested and charged with reckless endangerment. Torres also faces criminal mischief charges.

BACKGROUND: Two people arrested after allegedly shooting dog with arrow in Greece

The LaLoggia family said they feared the worst for Bogart.

“But then they took more x-rays during the surgery, and it didn’t puncture his lung,” Brenda said. “It was resting between both lungs, his esophagus, his heart and his aorta.”

The family said that Bogart is doing better each day, but at the moment, he has to use a feeding tube.

“The doctor that’s caring for him now, yesterday and today, both days, she said that Bogart is doing a lot better than she expected him to be,” Brenda said.

The woman who fostered Bogart before the LaLoggia family has set up a GoFundMe to pay for the medical bills.

As of Tuesday night, more than $17,000 of the $20,000 goal has been raised.

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