Lewisville Leader > News
Flower Mound police recover dogs
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
The Flower Mound Police Department continues to investigate an incident in which 51 Maltese mix-breed dogs were abandoned near the intersection of U.S. Highway 377 and Stonecrest Road in west Flower Mound.
The dogs range in age from 1 to 10.
Capt. Richard Brooks said leads are still coming in, but no charges have been filed. He said animal cruelty could be the charge police file since the dogs were dropped off with no food or water.
Brooks said it's possible the owner abandoned the dogs because of the Licensed Breeder Act that went into effect Sept. 1 that requires operators with 11 or more breeding female dogs to be licensed and inspected.
"You can't sell the dogs if you have an operation that will get you into trouble," Brooks said. "If there was no way for the operation to pass inspection to get the license, they may have dumped the ones that put them over the limit. But at this point, we're just speculating."
Wednesday night, the Humane Society of North Texas (HSNT) recovered 41 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels found on a roadside near Sanger.
Brooks said originally, police believed the two incidents may be connected. But he said after receiving more information, police aren't sure.
"We've learned that it's not that unusual to breed separate kinds of dogs," Brooks said. "The dogs [found in north Denton County] aren't as bad as the ones we found. Ours had mud and feces in their hair. But the likelihood of them being connected, we just don't know."
Meanwhile, local organizations are stepping in to help.
Several of the dogs will be transferred Monday to the Humane Society of Flower Mound's (HSFM) adoption program.
Initial examination revealed the dogs are in very poor hygenic condition with severely matted hair but in good physical health.
Each dog is being groomed, evaluated and tested during the next several days to further determine their condition.
HSFM will also provide volunteer, adoption outreach and medical care to Flower Mound Animal Services for the other dogs remaining at the town facility. HSFM is coordinating with several other local rescues to place the rest of the dogs.
"HSFM has been overwhelmed at the generous response of animal lovers from DFW and across the country wanting to help these dogs," said Linda Norman, president of HSFM. "Because of this outpouring, we have many new foster homes and have received several donations that will allow us to give these dogs the medical care they need and deserve."
The Nosey Dog provided free grooming services, and the Animal Medical Center of Highland Village provided low-cost veterinary services.
Animal services officials said this is the first time the kennel has been full since it opened in 2004.
Anyone interested in adopting one of these dogs is asked to call the animal adoption center at 972-874-6390. There is no charge to adopt a dog or cat. However, the state and town ordinances require that the adopter have the animal vaccinated for rabies and spayed or neutered within 15 days of adoption.
In addition, HSFM is contributing $500, in addition to the $500 reward being offered by the HSNT, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for these incidents.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 972-539-0525 or the anonymous tip line at 972-874-3307.
The dogs range in age from 1 to 10.
Capt. Richard Brooks said leads are still coming in, but no charges have been filed. He said animal cruelty could be the charge police file since the dogs were dropped off with no food or water.
Brooks said it's possible the owner abandoned the dogs because of the Licensed Breeder Act that went into effect Sept. 1 that requires operators with 11 or more breeding female dogs to be licensed and inspected.
"You can't sell the dogs if you have an operation that will get you into trouble," Brooks said. "If there was no way for the operation to pass inspection to get the license, they may have dumped the ones that put them over the limit. But at this point, we're just speculating."
Wednesday night, the Humane Society of North Texas (HSNT) recovered 41 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels found on a roadside near Sanger.
Brooks said originally, police believed the two incidents may be connected. But he said after receiving more information, police aren't sure.
"We've learned that it's not that unusual to breed separate kinds of dogs," Brooks said. "The dogs [found in north Denton County] aren't as bad as the ones we found. Ours had mud and feces in their hair. But the likelihood of them being connected, we just don't know."
Meanwhile, local organizations are stepping in to help.
Several of the dogs will be transferred Monday to the Humane Society of Flower Mound's (HSFM) adoption program.
Initial examination revealed the dogs are in very poor hygenic condition with severely matted hair but in good physical health.
Each dog is being groomed, evaluated and tested during the next several days to further determine their condition.
HSFM will also provide volunteer, adoption outreach and medical care to Flower Mound Animal Services for the other dogs remaining at the town facility. HSFM is coordinating with several other local rescues to place the rest of the dogs.
"HSFM has been overwhelmed at the generous response of animal lovers from DFW and across the country wanting to help these dogs," said Linda Norman, president of HSFM. "Because of this outpouring, we have many new foster homes and have received several donations that will allow us to give these dogs the medical care they need and deserve."
The Nosey Dog provided free grooming services, and the Animal Medical Center of Highland Village provided low-cost veterinary services.
Animal services officials said this is the first time the kennel has been full since it opened in 2004.
Anyone interested in adopting one of these dogs is asked to call the animal adoption center at 972-874-6390. There is no charge to adopt a dog or cat. However, the state and town ordinances require that the adopter have the animal vaccinated for rabies and spayed or neutered within 15 days of adoption.
In addition, HSFM is contributing $500, in addition to the $500 reward being offered by the HSNT, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for these incidents.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 972-539-0525 or the anonymous tip line at 972-874-3307.
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