KEMP, Texas — Investigators from the SPCA of Texas and the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office seized and the SPCA of Texas took custody of eight allegedly cruelly treated animals from a property in Kemp today.
KEMP, Texas — Investigators from the SPCA of Texas and the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office seized and the SPCA of Texas took custody of eight allegedly cruelly treated animals from a property in Kemp today.
The animals seized include five dogs and three horses. The dogs were transported to the SPCA of Texas’ Russell E. Dealey Animal Rescue Center and the horses were transported to an offsite care facility, where they will be cared for and evaluated by medical staff until a custody hearing takes place. The custody hearing will take place on November 16, 2018 before, before Justice of the Peace Pct. 4 Johnny Adams.
According to the SPCA of Texas four of the dogs were found in the front yard of the residence roaming freely with no access to food or potable water. One dog was found confined to a pen in the backyard of the residence with no access to food or potable water. The horses were found roaming freely in the backyard of the residence with no access to food or potable water.
“The animals appear to be suffering from various health conditions, including open wounds, lethargy, overgrown and cracked hooves,” said Madeline Yeaman, SPCA spokesperson said. “Several of the animals appear to be significantly underweight.
In a statement released to inForney.com Wednesday afternoon, the SPCA of Texas says they received a complaint of suspected animal cruelty on June 4, 2018. An SPCA of Texas Animal Cruelty Investigator visited the property on June 9, 2018 and made contact with the animal owner. During that visit, the SPCA of Texas began working with the owner, educating them on proper veterinary care and feeding of animals and entering into an agreement with them to bring the animals' conditions into compliance with Texas Health and Safety Code.
“Over the next several months, the SPCA of Texas’ Investigator visited the property numerous times and continued to work with the owner and monitor the animals’ conditions, which had improved. In October of 2018, the SPCA of Texas’ Investigator noticed a decline in some of the animals’ conditions and began building a case in order to seek a seizure warrant After visiting the property two more times, the investigator obtained all proper evidence proving the facts of the case according to legal standards, presented the case to a judge and obtained a seizure warrant,” the statement says.
inForney.com has requested copies of the search warrant affidavits from Judge Adams office, but they were not available at time of press. Criminal charges expect to be filed in this case according to investigators.
This is a developing story.