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Officials remove 113 animals from property
By Bill Hankins
The Paris News
Published November 24, 2009
COOPER — Delta County Sheriff’s Department and the SPCA of Texas seized 101 dogs, seven donkeys, four Chinchillas and one Cockatiel on Monday from a property in Delta County in what the SPCA said is a case of cruelty to animals.
The 101 dogs were cruelly confined in various pens, trailers and a shed on the property, all of which the SPCA said are covered in feces and urine.
A custody hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1 in the Delta County Courthouse, 200 W. Dallas St., Cooper.
Justice of the Peace Bud Skinner will preside.
SPCA said the dogs kept in the pens were forced to live in sewage, a mixture of mud, urine and feces. The trailers and shed are covered in feces and urine and both trailers are filled with furniture, trash and other debris.
The stench of ammonia in the shed was called “overpowering.”
“The sub-floors of the trailers were soft and spongy because they were so soaked with urine,” said Courtney Stevens, chief investigator for the SPCA of Texas. “Some dogs were running loose in rooms, others were confined in small closets.”
All the dogs lacked food and only had access to filthy water that was not suitable for drinking.
Several of the dogs are suffering from hair loss and were not receiving appropriate veterinary care, according to the SPCA.
“A majority of the dogs are unsocialized, which is common in hoarding cases,” Stevens said.
The donkeys were being kept in pens.
In one pen, three very underweight donkeys did not have access to food and had only contaminated water to drink.
In another pen, the other four donkeys had access to hay but their water was also unsuitable to drink.
All of the donkeys are in need of hoof care. Many appear to have overgrown and cracked hooves.
The Chinchillas and the Cockatiel were living in cages that appeared to have not been cleaned in several weeks.
At the request of the Delta County Sheriff’s Department, SPCA of Texas Humane Investigators responded to the complaint and investigated the property.
The SPCA of Texas had been working with the animal owner for three months to bring the animals’ living conditions into compliance with Texas Health and Safety Code. Although the animal owner did have three dogs treated for hair loss, none of the other compliance terms were met, SPCA officials said.
The animals’ conditions had worsened and the SPCA of Texas agreed with the Delta County Sheriff’s Department that immediate action was needed.
SPCA of Texas vehicles transported the animals to the Perry Animal Care Center, 8411 Stacy Road/FM 720 in McKinney, where the animals will be cared for until the custody hearing.
If the SPCA of Texas is awarded custody of the animals, they would be individually evaluated for potential adoption or placement on a case by case basis, officials said.
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