Every evening, about 20 wild peacocks wander into Dennis Morris’ front yard in California’s San Joaquin Valley. It’s the highlight of his day.

“I love these birds,” said Morris, who runs a long-term care home near Exeter and lives on-site. Peacocks have long been known to frequent the rural neighborhood, often visiting residents’ homes at the start and end of each day, searching for food.

One early evening in late February, Morris noticed that one of the peacocks had been shot by an arrow. It was poking out of the bird’s body.

“I was shocked,” said Morris, 68, who inched closer to snap a photo.

The bird was limping and appeared to be in pain, he said.

While many local residents delight in the peacocks’ presence, Morris said, “there are some people in the neighborhood that don’t like it.” The birds are mostly harmless, but they can be loud and often leave droppings, he said.

The birds are commonly known as peacocks, though the females are technically peahens, and both are peafowl.

He was disturbed that someone would go so far as to injure one of the large, iridescent birds. It is a crime in California to intentionally torture, wound or kill an animal.

“It was devastating,” Morris said.

Dana Schrader, the administrator of Morris’ long-term care home, shared Morris’ photo on Facebook. People in the community were outraged, and local news covered the story.

“It was heartbreaking, to say the least,” said Schrader, adding that they decided to name the impaled bird Cupid.

Neighbors couldn’t bear to watch the bird suffer, so they started by calling various animal services, as well as the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.

Donny Block, who has lived in neighborhood for eight years, said animal control and fish and wildlife officials came.

The peacocks, he said, were a selling point when he and his wife, Robyn, purchased their home.

“We absolutely love them,” said Block, 45. “There’s nothing better than waking up in the morning and drinking coffee and enjoying a front yard full of peacocks.”

“We go grocery shopping for them,” said Block, adding that they often feed the peacocks bread, bird seed, cereal and blueberries – the birds’ favorite.

“It upsets me to think they’re not wanted and someone would go to that length to hurt them,” he said.

Volunteers from Critter Creek Wildlife Station – a nonprofit in Fresno County, Calif. – quickly came to help capture Cupid. They said such incidents aren’t unusual.

“It’s all too common,” said Andy Jewett, who has been volunteering with Critter Creek Wildlife Station for 21 years. “I get birds all the time that are shot.”

As volunteers and officials focused on capturing Cupid, Morris offered a $200 reward on social media, hoping to track down the person who shot him.

“We thought maybe somebody could give us some information,” Morris said.

After a few days, Cupid was still on the loose.

“They did everything they could, but the bird was already very skittish,” Block said.

Neighbors were increasingly concerned for Cupid.

Block said he saw other birds trying to pull the arrow out.

“That was terribly sad to watch,” he said.

“We started getting more and more people stopping by to see if they could help, showing real, true concern,” he continued. “It was just a dark cloud for a few days because we couldn’t help him.”

When several strategies to capture Cupid failed – including using a net gun – Block set up a makeshift trap in his front yard.

He put out a small cage and filled it with treats, including watermelon, blueberries and live mealworms. He attached a long rope to the cage’s opening and strung it into his home.

Block planned to stay on guard and pull the string whenever the peacock entered the cage. A few days later, on March 8, Cupid took the bait – and got trapped.

“I called Andy, and they were there immediately and took him off to have surgery,” Block said.

First, Jewett took Cupid to the county animal services center for an X-ray, then volunteers drove the bird to San Joaquin Veterinary Hospital for surgery to remove the arrow – which had damaged the underside of his skin and the surface of the breast muscles. The surgery, which was covered by Critter Creek Wildlife Station, cost $550.

“That arrow was in basically the whole length of his body,” said Jewett, noting that the arrow went between the bird’s legs and stuck out the top left side of his chest. Although it damaged some muscle, the arrow remained directly under the skin and did not penetrate any internal organs. Doctors also confirmed that Cupid is a male and is less than a year old.

The arrow shaft, Jewett said, is composed of high-end carbon fiber “designed for deep penetration.” The arrowhead, he explained, “is blunt and has four claws on it, and it’s not meant to penetrate deeply.”

“The combination is gruesome at best,” said Jewett, adding that the sheriff’s office has the arrow and is investigating.

Cupid has been under the care of Joan Cuadra, a Critter Creek Wildlife Station volunteer, since his surgery. He is in a large cage in her backyard, and she feeds him, tends to his wounds and gives him antibiotics twice a day.

“He’s doing great,” said Cuadra, 73. “Cupid is very sweet.”

Maureen Lee Dutra, a volunteer vet with Critter Creek Wildlife Station, checks on him regularly. She said she is impressed by the dedication of her fellow volunteers.

“The larger community is very lucky that there are volunteers willing to take on these animals,” Lee Dutra said. “It’s an incredible service, and it doesn’t often get a lot of attention. We need more people to become aware of the need of not only financial support but also time support.”

Residents have been invested in Cupid’s recovery.

“We were saying our little prayers for him,” Block said. “When I saw the extent of the injury, it’s a miracle he’s alive.”

Cupid is expected to have recovered by March 28 and to be released into the same area where he was found. The neighbors plan to be there to celebrate his safe return to the wild.

“He’s doing very well right now,” said Lee Dutra, adding that the bird is expected to live a normal life after his recovery.

Although Morris’ $200 reward never yielded any leads about the shooter’s identity, neighbors hope the person responsible will be deterred from doing it again, based on the community’s response.

“We’re all watching now,” Block said.

He and his neighbors are looking forward to finally setting Cupid free.

“To release him is going to be amazing,” Block said. “It’s such a relief.”

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