Marlin's police chief, city manager and animal control officer accused of animal cruelty

NEWS AND COMMENT/OPINION: In Marlin, Texas, USA, the police chief, city manager and animal control oversee a dog shelter (dog pound). And within that dog pound there were dogs that were starving and living in filth and on the verge of death. Many had died. It was a vision of Armageddon in the dog shelter world.

Starving dog at Marlin's dog pound. Image: KWTX.

This appears to have been a complete failure by the city officials in caring for shelter dogs. It's the kind of failure which would normally result in arrests and prosecutions of the administrators of the shelter. 

But, as we know, when the authorities are the alleged perpetrators of animal abuse they are protected because they close ranks and the law is not applied equally. The old adage that everyone is equal under the law is simply a false concept.

In this instance, Marlin's mayor promised accountability but has so far failed to deliver according to Nathan Winograd in his email to me.

There's been a promised investigation by the Falls County Sheriff's Office which has not materialised. Sheriff Joe Lopez of that office said that dogs were not his priority! Yes, we understand that anywhere on the planet, for the police, dogs are not a priority and neither are cats.

The police are invariably engaged in speciesism by which I mean they prioritize humans over companion animals.

As a consequence of this failure of the authorities to act, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has become involved and he is reviewing the case. He told local news reporters that "the Marlin Animal Shelter investigation is now one of his top priorities."

The residents in the area are becoming restless and irritated by the lack of action. They are protesting according to local news reports (which is why the Governor is involved 🙄). They want accountability. A local news station reports that multiple dogs were found dead. They must've starved to death.

Around 40 peaceful protesters are demanding change. They've been protesting in Moody, Temple and Thornton to demand that Marlin's city manager, animal control officer and the police chief be arrested for animal cruelty under the law. They want prosecutions and they want accountability.

The mayor, Susan Byrd, said, "As a proponent of dog rescues we are all working to cooperate with the investigation by the Falls County Sheriff's Office. Upon completion of the investigation, the City of Marlin will do our best to ensure the responsible parties are all held accountable."

It would seem to me that she is in charge and therefore she should also be accountable 🤢. The local newsgathering station that I referred to here, KWTX, said that they tried calling the Marlin Police Chief multiple times for his comment but nothing was forthcoming.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

17 cats mysteriously died on the way to a veterinarian from a San Bernardino County animal pound

Rescue cats. Image supplied.

NEWS AND VIEWS: This is a report from Nathan Winograd to me in an email. It is very disturbing. Nathan Winograd is America's greatest advocate for the No-Kill movement in animal shelters. He tells me that staff at the Devore pound (animal 'shelter') in San Bernardino County, California, USA, say that 17 cats on the way to a veterinary clinic mysteriously died. But there has been no explanation. 

No one believes the claim. Nathan Winograd hints in his email that the cats were killed deliberately because this particular pound has a record of killing animals unnecessarily.

He says that Devore staff routinely and systematically kill animals. And according to rescuers Devore killed 35 cats including young kittens in three days.

RELATED: Nathan Winograd’s No Kill Advocacy Center Reviews US Statistics on American Shelters.

Rescuers have accused the pound of the following:

• Routinely mislabeling friendly cats as “feral” to kill them because it does not have a community cat program;
• Allowing healthy cats to get sick because of poor protocols and filth and then killing them, even if the condition is treatable;
• Killing pregnant cats so as not to foster or provide veterinary care;
• Killing entire families of cats — mothers and young kittens together; and,
• Not providing prompt and necessary medical care “leading to suffering and even death.

And when rescuers complain about these unnecessary killings, the administrators of the pound retaliate by killing animals that the rescuers have offered to save. It seems extraordinary. This report indicates that there is a complete breakdown in the way this pound is managed.

And the pound is managed by Brian Cronin. And Winograd also reports that Cronin has been the subject of complaints dating back decades. For example, in 2006, it is said that he returned an abuse dog doused in gasoline and set on fire to the abuser who was awaiting trial at the time. This caused worldwide condemnation.

Winograd also accuses the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, who oversee the pound, of allowing the long-term neglect, abuse and killing of animals and the pound.