Animals Seized in Van Zandt County

GRAND SALINE — Under the authority of the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Department, the SPCA of Texas seized 35 dogs, 7 of which are puppies, and one bird Friday morning from a Grand Saline property. According to KETK, the SPCA terms the animals “cruelly confined.” The SPCA says the animals were being housed in a feces-filled, urine-soaked trailer on the property and in a small, filthy outdoor pen, and were not receiving proper food, water or care.

According to the SPCA, all of the dogs appear to be small mixed breeds, and most of them suffer from hair loss, eye discharge, flea infestation and extremely long nails. The agency claims the bird, a lovebird, was living in a filthy, roach infested cage and had feather loss and crusty skin. The SPCA of Texas will know more about their conditions after the animals are evaluated by the medical staff.

“We have home remedies that we give them, but sometimes they do get somewhat sick and we don’t now how to cure them,” said Ethan Scott, son of the animal owners. “Usually it’s the puppies and they just die, and we bury them in the yard. We have a whole bunch of dogs buried in the yard.” When asked how he felt Scott answered, “OK. It had to happen one of these days. It should be better now. We’ll save money on dog food now.” The Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Department contacted the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to provide support for the Scott family.

The SPCA of Texas and the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Department received complaints of animal cruelty at the property on August 20. The Sheriff’s Department obtained a seizure warrant, and the SPCA of Texas transported the dogs to the SPCA of Texas’ Perry Animal Care Center in McKinney, where they will be cared for until a custody hearing to be held Sept. 2. If the SPCA of Texas receives custody of the animals, they will be evaluated for potential adoption of placement on a case by case basis.