Olney Animal Control helps County with cruelty cases

The Young County Sheriff ’s Department and Young County Humane Society informed County Commissioners that they plan to discuss processes for handling animal cruelty cases following the death of a dog whose prolonged starvation had been reported to authorities multiple times.

Sheriff Travis Babcock, YCHS director Shelby Brogdon, and YCHS board president Heather Allen told the Commissioners on June 12 that the two agencies needed to clarify procedures for seizing neglected or injured animals.

The sheriff noted that deputies are not legally permitted to transport seized animals, and were unclear about how to respond to animal abuse cases in parts of the county that do not have animal control officers. Sheriff Babcock and Ms. Brogdon then began discussing a case involving an emaciated Dogo Argentino named Niko in Newcastle. The dog was surrendered to the Humane Society by his owner’s son-in-law in March, more than two years after people began reporting his condition to authorities. The dog died a week later, and two men were arrested for felony animal cruelty in connection with his death. The Young County Grand Jury heard the case during its most recent session but declined to indict them.

“I’m not 100 percent sure that that was not a misunderstanding about what was going on,” Sheriff Babcock said of the case. “Someone said we had to have an animal control officer to bring that dog over [to the vet or Humane Society]. Whenever they called to talk about the dog [the Humane Society] said, ‘Turn it over to Animal Control and animal control has to bring it in.”

But Newcastle does not employ an animal control officer, so the sheriff ’s department asked Olney Animal Control Officer Hollie Larance to pick up the dog because she lives in Newcastle, Sheriff Babcock said. Because she is employed by the City of Olney, she will only respond to “certain areas” outside the city limits, he said. Nor does the Young County Humane Society have a contract with the City of Newcastle to handle stray dogs, Ms. Brogdon said.

Another question is who pays for veterinary care in areas that do not have animal control, he said. The County budgets $5,000 quarterly to pay the Humane Society to handle stray animals for the unincorporated areas, Judge Win Graham said.

“Hollie said she was going to find a rescue for that dog,” Ms. Brogdon told the Commissioners. “[I said], ‘Have them talk to Hollie about whether she has found a rescue because there is no point in bringing it in here. It came to us and went back to [a dog] rescue.”

Stray animals are in a kind of limbo for three days after they are picked up, Ms. Brogdon said. “They don’t become ours for three days.” The Humane Society does not have facilities or funds to keep wounded or sick animals, she said. “If [animal control] picks up something that is mortally wounded … or looks like it might be dying it needs to go straight to the vet.

She also suggested that deputies go through training on animal cruelty cases offered by the Texas Humane Legislative Network. Sheriff Babcock agreed but asked Ms. Brogdon to “get on the same page as to what we are doing.”

“I need to sit down with the board … and discuss what the Sheriff ’s Department needs to be doing,” he said.” I need to know if we seize dogs in Newcastle … you will work with us.”