It took officials nearly five hours to remove 135 malnourished horses and 40 dogs from Grimes County property early Wednesday.
Deputies from the Grimes County Sheriff's Office and personnel from the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals arrived at the three-acre tract around 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Lt. Blake Jarvis said 80 dogs and 155 miniature horses were living at the property off Texas 30 near the intersection of F.M. 244. The conditions of the animals taken from the property ranged from extremely malnourished to fair, he said.
"It was brought to our attention last week, with an anonymous complaint," the lieutenant said. "The SPCA was contacted and we went out and talked with the owner last week and she agreed to give up a majority of the animals."
As part of the deal, he said, she was allowed to keep 40 dogs and 20 horses, and given the opportunity to keep them in good health.
No charges have been filed, but that option isn't being ruled out.
"To file criminal charges you have to determine what the owner's intent was," he said. "Was it the intent to starve or hurt the animals?"
He said the woman, whose identity is being withheld, was breeding the animals for sale but had trouble finding buyers in a down economy.
"She realized she didn't have the means to care for them properly and surrendered them," he said.
Jarvis said he believed the animals were taken to Houston for evaluation and treatment before alternative owners are found. The dogs were carried away in an air-conditioned mobile animal clinic trailer, while the horses were split up into six trailers, some as long as 36 feet.
Attempts to contact officials with the Houston SPCA were unsuccessful Wednesday.
Dr. Don Goodman, a Navasota-based veterinarian, said cases of malnutrition are more common during droughts and dips in the economy.
"If they're dependent on feed, they should be getting about 10 pounds a day and a sack of feed can cost around $10 for a 50 pound bag," he said, continuing to calculate the daily cost of caring for one horse at around $5 minimum. "The biggest thing to remember here is that those animals are completely dependent on humans for food and care -- they can't fend for themselves."
Dr. Wesley Bissett, a professor at Texas A&M University's Large Animal Clinic, said obvious signs indicate that a horse might not be getting proper care.
"General indicators to look for would be a loss of body condition -- thin animals, ribs showing, a poor hair coat," he said. "Another indicator could be extremely lame animals, animals that are too weak to move much."
Bissett said most neglect cases he's encountered with large animals are nutrition related.
"If someone's economic situation has changed and they can no longer care for the animals, it's important to remember there is help available," he said.
Two local equine rescue facilities are the True Blue Animal Rescue in Brenham and the Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society in College Station.
The below map shows police calls reported by the College Station Police Department each day from 6 a.m. to 6 a.m. (indicated by blue markers), police calls reported by the Bryan Police Department daily from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. (indicated by yellow markers), as well as incidents reported by The Eagle in Bryan, College Station and surrounding areas (indicated by red markers). Click on individual incidents or markers for details.
Editor's Note: The Eagle has produced this map based on information provided by the College Station and Bryan Police Departments. The map does not include all calls for service and the information is preliminary. Data provided by the police department may not accurately reflect the nature of the calls, and the status of reported incidents may change after further investigation. Locations are approximate.
RSS
Mobile
Daily Emails
Twitter
Facebook
