The McLennan County Sheriff's Office arrested a man in connection with an animal seizure conducted by the sheriff's office in the 1000 block of Agnes Wills Rd.
Rogelio Garcia was charged with cruelty to livestock on Wednesday. The sheriff's office said he will also be responsible for hundreds of dollars worth of costs associated with the seizure.
Deputies said they seized seven malnourished horses and 13 dogs during last Friday's seizure. The official complaint said the horses were very sick.
After consulting with a veterinarian, he rated the horses from 1 to 9 (1 being dead, 2 being near dead and 9 being healthy). Three of the horses scored a 2, and two horses scored a 3.
The veterinarian said that the horses were not being fed, and what they were being fed with was not nutritious. He concluded that the horses had been neglected.
“Some of them are very skinny, very poor, very malnourished. Their bones, their ribs are sticking out, the hip bones,” said McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara.
In all, McNamara said deputies took seven malnourished horses into custody. He described five of those as in the danger zone for their lives.
“They rely on us for care, for food and we don't tolerate people mistreating these animals,” McNamara said.
He said deputies seized 13 dogs as well.
“It hurts because I love animals and it bothers me that they were so thin,” said a neighbor who wanted to remain anonymous. “I'm sorry for them because I know they love their animals. I just think they couldn't afford them and they just hated to get rid of them. I think that's it in a nutshell.”
McLennan County Sheriff's deputies said concerned citizens tipped them off to what was happening.
“I don't want to say that they're terrible people. I think they're just the type of people who wanted these animals and then didn't know what to do with them when they had them,” said a family who also wanted to remain anonymous.
The neighbor and family member we spoke with said they both agree someone should pay the price.
“Absolutely, I think anybody should,” said a neighbor. “It shouldn't go unnoticed, it shouldn't go unpunished..
Garcia is being held at the McLennan County Jail on a $2,000 bond.
Copyright 2018 KXXV. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2018 KXXV. All rights reserved.
