10 years of neglect

To Whom It May Concern,
            On the afternoon of January 7, 2008, Myself and another Animal Control Officer responded to a complaint at a property in Texas. We found two dogs on the property. We found one Springer spaniel and one chow chow. After an initial look at the dogs we determined that the complaint we received was valid and we were dealing with a cruelty case. We knocked on the door and the owner came outside. As we began to explain the violations to the owner we continued to find more violations. After a few minutes we called the Galveston County Sherriff office to request a deputy on the scene. We continued to interview the owner as we waited for the Deputy to arrive. The deputy who responded to the scene did not seem to have a problem with placing the owner under arrest and charging her with animal cruelty. However his superior on duty told him that he was not allowing the deputy to arrest the owner or even fill out an incident report. The Deputy’s supervisor stated that the Sherriff department did not respond to cases of neglect. With that decision made he was no longer any use to us and had more pressing matters to tend to, so he left the scene. At this time we gave the owner a choice. She could either surrender her animals or refuse to surrender her animals. In the case that she did not surrender her animals she was informed that we would obtain a seizure order from a Justice of the peace and she could explain her side of the story to a Judge. She agreed to surrender the animals at that time. We then finished our documentation of the area, loaded the animals and left the property.

Our findings are as follows:
The Springer spaniel was in a small fenced off area in the rear of the property. This Yard (the fenced off area for this dog) was approximately 15 ft square. In this yard was a doghouse, a metal tub for water along with food bowls. The food bowls were all empty. The water in the tub was putrid and was a very dark green color. The dog’s fur was matted in a few places. The dog was suffering from an injury to his right rear leg. This injury was only visible when the dog was walking he favored the leg and put very little weight on it. The owner of the dog stated that this injury had not been treated. The collar on the dog had become embedded and caused a large open wound on the front of the neck under the jaw. The wound was infected and smelled of rotten flesh. The dog had numerous growths on body that appeared to be tumors. This dog was also underweight and infested with fleas. The owner stated that she had no paperwork for this dog in regards to veterinary care. This dog has been cruelly treated by the state of Texas’ definition. This dog has been unreasonably deprived of necessary care, food and water for such a time that the animal was no longer in a good state of health. After examination at the Galveston County Animal Shelter this dog was euthanized. The temperament of this dog had suffered along with his health. As a result from the pain and lack of interaction this dog was very scared and uneasy. He had to be euthanized because had we gotten him the care he needed we would not be able to adopt him out due to his temperament. Though I would like to have vet reports on this dog he would have had to be sedated to be examined and such time was not available until three days later. The vet reports would not be worth the stress put on this animal by an extended stay in the kennel. The photographs of this dog show obvious health problems and a lack of necessary care. The Chow Chow was in a similar pen built onto one side of the house. This yard was approximately 15 foot wide by 20 foot long. This yard had a doghouse that was falling apart, a metal tub for water and food bowls. The fur on this dog was severely matted on the back half of the body. The dog was also suffering from flea allergies resulting in hair loss. This dog was underweight and infested with fleas. The food bowls were empty. The water in the tub provided for this dog was a dark brown color. This dog has a list of medical problems that have been diagnosed and are being treated by a veterinarian his prognosis is not good however due to a generous foster home this dog will spend the rest of his days in a loving environment getting the care he has been neglected of.

Both owners of these dogs have been charged criminaly with Animal Cruelty