A judge sentenced a 42-year-old woman to six months in jail Monday for abandoning her rental property and leaving more than 30 dogs and cats crammed inside pet carriers or roaming the house without food or water for almost a week.
The judge also issued an arrest warrant for the woman's husband and co-defendant after he failed to appear in court.
Authorities discovered the animals Oct. 1 after a landlord contacted them and the Humane Society of North Texas, saying he was concerned that a couple might have abandoned a rental house in the 4100 block of Collin Street with pets inside.
Inside the home, investigators found more than 20 malnourished cats and kittens packed into two pet carriers and four large dead or dying dogs in another. Roaming the trashed house were two dogs, a male and a mother with 10 puppies.
Most of the pets were later euthanized because of poor health, officials said.
Ellen Rollins Madison and Scott D. Madison, 36, were indicted in November on charges of animal cruelty, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.
After hearing testimony Monday from about a half-dozen witnesses, County Criminal Court Judge Mike Mitchell sentenced Ellen Rollins Madison, who had pleaded no contest, to 180 days in jail, said prosecutor Art Clayton, who handled the case with Nicole Crain.
Ellen Rollins Madison testified that the couple were being evicted and that she had left the animals inside the home with food and water, Clayton said.
"Our witnesses testified that there were no bowls of water or food -- or empty bowls," Clayton said. "She abandoned them, and she neglected them on top of that."
Bradford Shaw, Ellen Rollins Madison's attorney, said he had hoped that she would get probation. Instead, the judge gave her credit for 70 days she spent in jail, but she has to serve 110 more.
"I think it is probably a bit harsh when you consider her testimony that her husband was the one in charge of moving their belongings and was responsible for taking care of the animals," Shaw said. "But it is up to the judge to make that kind of call."
Scott Madison's attorney, Fred Rabalais, said that he had not heard from his client, but that his wife gave the judge a note from an emergency room doctor at local hospital saying that her husband's "anti-seizure medication was at a low level in his bloodstream."
"I asked for a continuance on his behalf, and that was denied," Rabalais said.
Madison was arrested Tuesday evening and was in the Grand Prairie jail Tuesday night. No bail was set.
Jamey Cantrell, operations director for the Humane Society of North Texas, said almost all the surviving cats and kittens had to be euthanized because of ill health. One dog died en route to the shelter, and the male dog found roaming the house was later euthanized after he tried to bite several people and he was judged to be a poor candidate for adoption.
The mother dog and her puppies were put up for adoption and have found good homes, Cantrell said.
Cantrell said that the couple had to know what would happen if the animals were locked up without food or water.
"As far as abuse and neglect cases are concerned, it was pretty bad," Clayton said. "But for a Class A misdemeanor, that is a significant amount of jail time in light of the range of punishment." Case Updates| Scott Madison pled guilty and was sentenced to nine months in jail | | Update posted on Mar 27, 2003 - 8:07AM |
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