Edcouch police arrested a 21-year-old man Tuesday after finding a dog tangled in a fence and another dog so malnourished that an officer could see its ribs.
Police arrested Datrell Dezman Fleming responded to a residence in the 200 block of South Montgomery Street at about 7:49 p.m. after a person reported hearing a dog crying out in pain.
She followed the dog’s screams which led her to a house near the alleyway where she found a dog badly tangled on its leash and stuck on a fence.
She told the police she tried to untangle it but was unable to it so she called police.
“She was convinced that the dog would soon die had she not called for help,” the arrest warrant states.
She also told police this isn’t the first time she had seen this dog tangled like this and believed that the dogs should be removed from the house.
When police arrived, the officer said he heard the dog in distress and saw that it was tangled in the fence and crying while struggling to get free.
“(The officer) observed the dog appear to go limp and lose consciousness,” the affidavit states.
The fire department arrived on the scene and set the dog free by using bolt cutters to cut it out of the fence.
Police say the dog regained consciousness and had several cuts and scrapes.
“(The officer) observed the dog did not have access to food or water near the area he was tied,” the affidavit states.
Authorities say Dezman was not home at the time but the officer noticed a second doc that appeared to be malnourished with its ribs visible.
The affidavit says police took photos of the dogs and that public works would pick them up.
Dezman is charged with animal cruelty and remains jailed on a $40,000 bond, records show.
