Two arrested for animal cruelty
Posted/updated on: February 1, 2026 at 5:37 pm
VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Two people in Van Zandt County have been arrested after officers discovered an emaciated dog left outside in freezing weather on their property over the weekend. According to our news partner KETK, this happened Jan 24, when the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at a property where a male shepherd-mix dog was found chained to a tree.
The dog was found to appear emaciated, with ice coating his fur, and had no access to shelter to protect him from the 20-degree weather. The sheriff’s office requested assistance from the SPCA‘s Animal Cruelty Investigations (ACI) Unit, which promptly arrived at the scene.
The dog’s owners, Charles Brumbelow and Darla Brumbelow, agreed to surrender the dog to the SPCA of Texas. The dog is currently being treated for starvation after being transported to the SPCA of Texas’s Russell E. Dealey Animal Rescue Center in Dallas. The pair were arrested and booked into the Van Zandt County Jail the same day with cruelty to nonlivestock animal charges. Their bonds were set at $5,000 each, but they have since bonded out.
