KAUFMAN COUNTY, TX/McKINNEY, TX); November 5,
2009--Kaufman County Justice of the Peace, Pct. 1 Johnny Perry awarded
custody of four cats, four horses and one dog seized from a Crandall,
TX property on November 3 to the SPCA of Texas in a hearing today at
the Kaufman County Justice of the Peace, Pct. 1 Sub Courthouse in
Kaufman, TX. Additionally, Judge Perry awarded $2,179 in restitution to
the SPCA of Texas.
Judge
Perry awarded two of the dogs, the two sugar gliders and one of the
cats to the original owner. The judge ordered, however, that law
enforcement must visit and observe the property on a regular basis and
that if they see any neglect, all of the animals would again be
seized.
In his ruling, Judge Perry compared this animal cruelty case to a child abuse case.
"...If
CPS was involved, they wouldn't just take one abused child but would
take custody of all abused children," said Judge Perry. "You have
children. If you have two kids eating at the dinner table and you have
another one lying on the floor in bad shape, I would hope you would get
that one to the doctor. It is the same for animals."
Under
the authority of the Kaufman County Sheriff's Department, the SPCA of
Texas seized five cats, four horses, three dogs and two sugar
gliders on Tuesday, November 3, from a property in Crandall, TX
in Kaufman County.
One
of the horses, found in a stall, was down and unable to
stand, emaciated, covered in open wounds and was in need of immediate
veterinary care. A veterinarian was called to the scene to evaluate the
horse. The other three horses, who were all tethered to posts in a
pasture on the property, are thin to extremely thin and did not have
access to food or water. Two of the dogs, found tethered outside, are
thin. The remaining animals--five cats, two sugar gliders and one
dog--were found in the house without access to food or water.
Acting
at the request of the Kaufman County Sheriff's Department, an SPCA of
Texas Humane Investigator visited the property in question. The SPCA of
Texas agreed with the Kaufman County Sheriff's Department that
immediate action was needed as one of the horses was in severe distress.
SPCA
of Texas vehicles transported the animals to the Perry Animal Care
Center in McKinney, TX on Tuesday, November 3, where they were cared
for until the custody hearing.
The
SPCA of Texas will now begin the process of evaluating the animals for
potential adoption or placement on a case by case basis.
To
help the SPCA of Texas fund future rescues like this and to support the
SPCA of Texas' other programs and services, please visit www.spca.org/helptheanimals. To learn more about the SPCA of Texas, please visit our website at www.spca.org/.