Neglect - one dog, four cats seized
Lufkin, TX (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Apr 10, 2007
County: Angelina
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: man
A fund to care for a malnourished dog and three starving cats has been established at a local veterinary clinic after the animals were seized by city authorities.
Marshall Police Department has issued a warrant for the former owner's arrest.
"We're calling it Lily's Fund," said Evelyn Sepulvado, animal control officer. "That's the name we've given to the 18-month-old German shepherd."
Ms. Sepulvado said the city launched its investigation into the case after a woman registered a complaint. "She said she knew the owner had two dogs because she had seen them in the back yard."
After having not seen the dogs for "several months," the woman again saw a dog in the yard and called Marshall Animal Shelter because she thought it might be dead.
Ms. Sepulvado said authorities found a "very emaciated and dehydrated" canine at the location and the owner "purported he had cats" in the house.
The matter was taken to city court Monday and the judge issued a seizure warrant. The dog and four cats were removed from the home Tuesday morning.
One of the cats was in such poor condition that Ms. Sepulvado said it had to be euthanized at the veterinary clinic.
The other three are "fragile" and "shell-shocked," the animal control officer said, but she believes they will recover with proper care.
Those who wish either to take one of the cats into foster care or permanently adopt them should make application at the shelter.
Lily is a different matter. Ms. Sepulvado said the dog will eventually be placed for adoption, but is going to need extensive care.
"She has tested positive for heart worm," she said, "and there will be significant medical expenses."
To defray costs, Sonya McClendon of McClendon Veterinary Service, has agreed to accept donations for Lily's care.
Unfortunately, Ms. Sepulvado said, situations of animal abuse and neglect are not all that rare. "It's an on-going thing," she said, adding that this is the first time the shelter has set up an account to handle costs of rectifying abuse.
"In the event that there are extra funds, we will use them to offset the costs of handling future abuse cases," she added.
Ms. McClendon estimated Lily is about 35 pounds underweight. When the dog was brought to the shelter and had its first bowel movement on the concrete pad, Ms. Sepulvado said, "it was nothing but June bugs. I've never seen anything like it."
The animal control officer said the former owner had quit his job in December and said he lacked the financial means to feed his animals.
The situation comes days before the April 15 start of the Humane Society of the United States' Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week.
Ms. Sepulvado encouraged residents within city limits to report all suspected incidents of animal abuse or neglect.
"We investigate everything," she said, "although, some cases we don't act upon because our investigation shows there is no abuse. Or we may be able to educate the owners on methods of providing better care for their pets.
"If it doesn't look right, report it. We would rather be informed than have to deal with situations like this one." References« TX State Animal Cruelty Map
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