Sheriff’s office seizes 15 dogs

PLANTERSVILLE- A video surfaced on social media Thursday, Sept. 19, claiming an alleged case of animal cruelty involving dogs.

Grimes County Sheriff’s office initiated an investigation immediately after learning of the alleged mistreatment through the Face-book video.

The Facebook video depicted there to be 80 dogs. According to Grimes County Investigator Lt. Daniel Wagnon, there was an undetermined number of dogs, but it was estimated to be anywhere between 10-20 dogs located on a wooded lot on Hollyknoll Drive in Plantersville, chained to trees. Wagnon said no houses are located on the lot, the dogs are just being housed there.

“Based on our investigation we were able to obtain a seizure warrant for those dogs ,” explained Wagnon.

Houston Humane Society Partners of the Harris County Animal Cruelty Task Force agreed to take custody of the dogs. They rescued 15 dogs from the property. “The dogs were found in apparent poor living conditions, many without water and appearing to be malnourished,” said Wagnon.

Wagnon said the dogs will undergo an evaluation by a veterinarian to determine if this is indeed a case of animal cruelty. They will also be checked for microchips to determine if they may have been lost or stolen.

“There were reports that this was a dog fighting ring, but we didn’t find any evidence that proved that dog fighting occurred on the property,” said Wagnon. “We also didn’t find any dog graves.”

Wagnon said the investigation is continuing and there will be a hearing with the judge that issued the seizure warrant to determine if the dogs will be returned to the owner or if custody will be awarded to the shelter.