Women charged with 94 counts of animal cruelty released

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Two women charged with 94 counts of animal cruelty have been released on bond, records show.

Cindy Ann Wells, 55, and Leticia Sanders, 54, were arrested March 30 at their McAllen residence after police discovered an uninhabitable scene.

Cindy Ann Wells (Source: McAllen Police Department)

Leticia Sanders (Source: McAllen Police Department)

On March 30, authorities responded to the 3400 block of Ozark Avenue after an Uber Eats driver called the police stating a home “smelled like death” upon delivering an order.

When authorities arrived at the home they described the strong order as "decomposed flesh."

According to an offense report obtained by ValleyCentral, the officers walked to the rear of the residence and saw a small patio with a large amount of dog feces and stains of urine.

Wells opened the door and told the police she and her cousin who lived at the residence with her owned 15 dogs together. She assured the officers that the smell was only coming from the feces on the front porch that she needed to clean up.

_{(Photo by: Rolando Avila/ValleyCentral)}

When the responding officers entered the home, they saw 10 "dirty dogs" barking in the living room, which was covered in more feces and urine stains.

According to the report, police said the “odor was so strong and foul they weren’t able to enter the residence further without protective equipment.”

Moments later, Sanders exited the residence and told police there were some dogs inside the home but she did not know how many.

Authorities found 93 dogs and one cat inside the home.

Authorities determined the animals were living in unsafe conditions and placed both Sanders and Wells under arrest on charges of animal cruelty.

All the pets were transported to the Palm Animal Society. As of April 17, two defendants from the animal hoarding case have granted Palm Valley custody of the dogs.

On April 1, both women were arraigned on 94 charges of animal cruelty and their bonds were set at $188,000 each.

On April 10 and April 11, Sanders and Wells were respectively released on bond, according to the Hidalgo County Jail records.