'Inhumane treatment': 17 dogs found in Brownsville home, 8 rescued

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Brownsville Animal Control rescued 17 dogs living in one home on Thursday.

Animal Control responded to a call regarding animal welfare. When officers arrived, they found the dogs living under one roof.

The Brownsville Animal Regulation and Care Center was able to take some of the dogs to its facility.

BARCC officials said they were alerted to the situation by a concerned citizen Wednesday night.

“First thing this morning, we dispatched officers to investigate, to get on scene, to get eyes on the animals. To really determine what the situation was," said the city's Deputy Director of Animal Services, Antonio Caldwell.

Animal Care Tech Supervisor, Jean Rosado found limited space in the kennels and some dogs showing signs of illness upon searching the home.

“Twitching, shaking, you know, off-balance. We have two animals that can barely stand up," said Rosado.

Animal Control convinced the owner to let them take eight of the dogs into their care.

BARCC personnel said the owner was cooperative and recognized the gravity of the situation. Rosado said, “The ones that we brought in first were actually ones that needed the attention first.”

A veterinarian responded to the shelter later in the afternoon to conduct wellness checks and administer medication to the dogs.

Animal Control issued several citations to the homeowner because of the dogs' living conditions.

"We cited him for spacing, inhumane treatment, failure to provide vaccinations for the dogs, microchip," Rosado said.

Each citation carries 17 separate offenses, one for each dog.

Caldwell said this looks like a case of someone trying to do the right thing, but at some point, the situation got out of hand.

“Trying to rescue one animal here, one animal there, and then found themselves in a situation that he couldn’t control," Caldwell said. "Couldn’t provide the right amount of resources to keep the animals healthy and safe in the home.”

Animal Control officers said they planned to return to the property to try and convince the owner to surrender the remaining dogs.

BARCC is asking for help from anyone who can foster the animals. The shelter said the dogs are friendly and have shown no signs of aggression.