(Note: The following is a first person account by Lindsay Beasley about her cat "Whitey," who was shot Aug. 6 through his left eye with an arrow. Beasley relates the story of how she found Whitey and her pet's will to survive. A Brooklet area man faces charges of aggravated cruelty to animals, a felony.)

      We got Whitey two years ago, along with the rest of his litter when their mom, a cat we nicknamed "Carl," abandoned them in our yard. We nursed them when they were only a week old. We found homes for three, and kept three: Whitey, Blackie and Sayla.
      Sayla has never been outside in her life. Blackie and Whitey, the twins we call them (they look the same except Whitey has a white patch on his belly), would spend an hour or so outside if we were outside with them and followed us around at our heels like they were dogs.
      Saturday morning, Aug. 6, Whitey ran outside. We expected him to be at the door within a few hours to come back inside, but we never saw him. We looked for him and called his name, shook the treats, and looked all over our property.   He normally comes running. We even drove up and down the road, making sure he hadn't gotten hit by a car because he ventured too far. We couldn't find him.
      Tuesday, Aug. 9 we found Whitey at 6:30 in the morning. I was leaving to go to school early to study for my final that was at 9 a.m. Whitey was sitting right outside our door crying. The crying alone would have made my heart wrench, but that wasn't the worst part. He had an arrow going in his left eye socket and out the back of his head.
      His neck was also covered with maggots, because whoever did this had left him to die.

Going to the vet

      I was hysterical. I ran inside and got my mom and a towel. We picked him up, wrapped him in a towel, and immediately called the sheriff's department. Then we rushed him to Gateway Animal Hospital. The drive was the most emotional 30 minutes of my life. He cried the entire time. So did we.
      I had tried to prepare myself to say goodbye to Whitey. I just wanted him to stop suffering. They immediately took him back at Gateway and gave him some pain medication (with our approval of course). They did a quick physical to get an opinion of his survival rate. The vet that was filling in for the regular vet wasn't there yet, so they just tried to get him comfortable. That gave us time to calm down and logically think about the situation.
      Whitey had come all the way home, from where ever this had happened, so obviously my baby boy had a will to survive. (We also saw evidence that night after going back home that he had been on the toolbox of our truck. He had jumped on the toolbox with the arrow in his head.)
      He was crying, he knew where to come home for help, so obviously there couldn't be that much brain damage (we hoped). When the vet got there, we decided that we couldn't give up on him. He hadn't given up, so we couldn't either. She confirmed our beliefs about the will to survive and no brain damage, so we hoped for the best.
      The veterinarian told us that the first thing they had to do was remove the arrow.
      They had to see how bad the damage was. She warned us that we might lose him when was put under anesthesia, because he was so weak. We might also lose him from consequences of removing the arrow, either from blood loss or brain swelling. We understood, prayed and waited.

Waiting for News

      I had to go to school, even though I really didn't want to. I wanted to stay there to support Whitey and be there for him if he needed me. I had told myself I would be OK if we lost him while they were taking the arrow out, because he would be under anesthesia so at least he wouldn't suffer. I got through most of my final before I started getting very upset again. Then it was just a waiting game.
      Finally I was able to get a ride back to Gateway. My teacher had taken me to school because she understood I was in no state to drive.
      I am in the veterinary technology program at Ogeechee Technical College, so she understood the pain I was going through.
      On the way back to Gateway, I got a call. It was a technician from Gateway. My heart heaving in my chest, I answered it. The technician said that Whitey was just fine, and I could come whenever I wanted to see him. A minute later I was there.
      They told me that before they had put him under anesthesia, they tried rinsing some of the maggots on his neck off.  While doing so, he had tried to lap up some of the water, so they offered him a bowl. With an arrow in his head, Whitey was still able to drink water!
      After they removed the arrow, he lost no more blood, and it came out easily.
      They found on further investigation the arrow missed his skull and his brain was untouched. They also found the arrow had missed his eye, except for scraping it on the side a tad.
      He has an ulcer on the eye, but they say it is treatable. We now think that he might even be able to see out of that eye after his main technician did a "menace test."

Worst problem

      The worst problem that Whitey is facing is what the maggots did to his skin. The maggots, which were attracted to the blood originally, made a feast of the skin on the left side of his forehead and neck. Two days after we took him to the vet, the once maggot-covered skin had turned into rock hard necrotic black skin. It is now starting to peel off, revealing raw skin that is trying to form underneath. Since the skin is not fully formed, it is an invitation for infection, so they have to keep him on antibiotics.
      After we took him to the vet, he didn't eat for three days. Finally he started eating a little hard food. I wanted to encourage him to eat more, so I brought some food from home for him. I hoped that he needed something familiar, since he was in such a terrible but strange situation. Apparently it worked!
      I also brought him the soft treats that we give him at home. He pigged out! This is such a great thing, because the body won't heal until it starts getting good nutrition and the systems start being worked.
      He gets fed Purina One: Chicken and Rice at home, and that's the only thing he is eating at the vet's office.

Helping Whitey

      We were informed today that Whitey's treatment cost will be in the thousands before his recovery is complete. There is no way that I can afford this. I am a full time student attending OTC with scholarships and grants. But Whitey has such a strong will to live. I couldn't give up on him just because I ran out of money. I couldn't disappoint him like that.
      For anyone who is interested in helping Whitey get the medical care he deserves, you can call Gateway Animal Hospital at (912) 681-7387 and let them know you want to make a donation for Whitey, or for the cat who had an arrow in his head, or anything along those lines.
      Or you can mail a donation directly to Gateway Animal Hospital in care of Whitey:
Gateway Animal Hospital
C/O Whitey Beasley
9849 U.S. Hwy 301 South
Statesboro, GA 30458