Dog Suffers Fatal Injury at Menotomy Rocks Park

A dog died Saturday afternoon in a freak accident at Menotomy Rocks Park in Arlington, police said.

The dog, a 3-year-old coonhound mix, was in the woods, away from its owner, when a 6-inch stick apparently broke off from a tree and punctured the dog’s heart, according to police.

Police responded to the park at about 3:50 p.m. The owner and two other dog walkers had heard the dog, which was off leash, yelping and then go silent. They located the dog, which had already died, with the owner’s GPS phone app.

A nearby resident, who had been sitting in her backyard, told police she heard a gunshot immediately before the dog yelping. Police, however, located the stick inside the dog’s chest and do not believe the dog was shot. Additional units did respond to the scene to search for any signs of a crime.

The dog died quickly after the injury, police said.