Three Pit bulls' ears cropped with knife
Bryan, TX (US)Incident Date: Thursday, May 4, 2006
County: Brazos
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Antwynne Ballew
A 26-year-old man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to jail for cropping the ears on three pit bulls in a "cruel and inhumane" manner, authorities said. Antwynne Ballew was sentenced to 320 days in jail and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine on each of the three misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. Authorities said he was training the dogs to fight. He also was sentenced to 250 days in jail and fined for resisting arrest, evading arrest, two counts of possession of marijuana and driving while his license was invalid.
The ears were cut while the dogs laid on a television console used as a make-shift operating table in Ballew's yard, prosecutors with the Brazos County Attorney's Office said. Bryan animal control officers found bloody rags and pieces of ears from the dogs on the ground near the console, along with a pocket knife, large kitchen knife and a needle and thread. The three dogs' heads were wrapped tightly in duct tape. They were treated by a local veterinarian, who said the dogs' ears had been cut in a cruel manner, officials said.
Rod Anderson, assistant Brazos County attorney, said that although it's common for the ears of pit bulls to be cropped, this was done in a cruel and inhumane manner. "They should have used the proper methods and tools to do it," Anderson said. "The way they did it was certainly unacceptable and cruel."
One adult pit bull was tied on a leash so short the dog could not lie down without choking and had no water or shelter, officers said. An 8-week-old puppy was so tangled in a fence it was tied to that it could not move. It also had no food, water or shelter.
References« TX State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Brazos County, TX
|
