News Writing

2008 TPA Better Newspaper Contest

First Place D9

The Gladewater Mirror

Beware of Owner

DA sending puppy mill operator to mental hospital

By Brenda Brown

They couldn't go to the gate and ask for help. They literally had no voice, though they could he heard barking from behind their heavily wooded nightmare long before they could be seen.

But thanks to a Good Samaritan who ventured onto the scene looking for buy a motor home, 246 dogs are now being in a better place than they have probably ever been in their lives and an Upshur County woman is in jail on charges of cruelty to animals.

Teresa Kay Dawson, 51, was arrested after the Upshur County Sheriff's Office received a call from the concerned citizen regarding what he witnessed at the property located west of Gladewater on a private road just east of Phaggett Road, off Hwy. 80.

Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd said Tuesday morning that any indictment or indictments against Dawson must wait because she is being sent to a state psychiatric hospital for evaluation within the next few days.

"(Ms. Dawson) has been examined by two different physicians and they are in agreement that she needs to be committed to a state hospital for treatment and therapy," Byrd said.

He added that the physicians noted Ms. Dawson "has the potential to hallucinate from time to time and has a psychiatric illness that needs medical treatment." The DA said he could not elaborate further about her mental condition.

Attorney Tim Cone has been appointed to represent Ms. Dawson, who has been declared indigent.

Byrd confirmed Ms. Dawson was living in the house at 153 PR 3463, which contained dozens of dogs in cages and was crawling from floor to ceiling with roaches.

"The title to the property is in her son's name, but she is the caretaker and it has been in her exclusive control for some time," Byrd added.

The DA and sheriff's department are still collecting evidence, and the level of animal cruelty charges will depend on what they find.

"If you (the state) allege the animals were tortured, that's a felony. If you allege failure to feed or water, that's a Class A misdemeanor," Byrd explained. "The case depends on the evidence as to what the state can prove."

Ms. Dawson will not be formally charged until she is returned to Upshur County from the state psych facility, though a hearing will still be held in JP court this Friday to determine the animals' ownership.

THE OLD FARM HOUSE, storage building, camper trailer and numerous outdoor pens were filled with small dogs living in their own feces and urine. Many of the animals were hairless and have mange. They were also lacking food and clean water until the sheriff's office took over the site.

Last Wednesday the SPCA of Texas, with offices in McKinney and Dallas, brought about 10 employees and volunteers, along with three large, air-conditioned buses, to remove the animals from their squalid conditions and take them to SPCA shelters, where veterinarians were waiting to examine them.

The house and storage building were filled with cages stacked upon cages of dogs. The ammonia levels inside each building were way past levels considered dangerous to humans, which means they were even more dangerous to the small animals, said Maura Davies, SPCA director of communications.

An ammonia detector brought to the site indicated a level of 39 in the storage building and 28 in the house. At 12, ammonia is considered dangerous to humans, Ms. Davies said. To make things worse, neither of the buildings was air-conditioned.

"It's like putting your head in a bucket of ammonia," Ms. Davies explained. "It's the worst I've seen in years in terms of filth and garbage and utter lack of any animal care."

The story has made headlines locally and across the nation and world, with stories on CNN and www.drudgereport.com

Upshur County Sheriff Anthony Betterton said his department received a call on Sunday evening, Sept. 24, from a man who went to the property to inquire about a motor home for sale. The man left Phaggett Road and then returned with 40 pounds of dog food. Meanwhile, he called the sheriff's department.

"We're talking about greed and money," Sheriff Betterton said last week of the "puppy mill."

"To my knowledge it's the worst in the history of Upshur County."

Betterton added these types of puppy breeders like rural areas where they can hide their bad acts and there are likely others located within the county and in rural areas across East Texas.

He said the state should license breeders and prevent people from selling the animals on roadsides and at fairs. The sheriff also warned citizens not to purchase animals when the owners do not allow the purchaser to see where the puppies and their "parents" live.

"I think Upshur County should seize this property so (Ms. Dawson) can't do this again," Betterton said.

Ms. Dawson, also known as Teresa Kay Rodriguez, is no stranger to area law enforcement agencies. She has been arrested in both Upshur and Gregg counties on a variety of charges since 1994, including aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, theft by check and public intoxication.

The sheriff praised the SPCA for its work and noted the group was footing the bill for animal removal.

Several people have called The Mirror about adopting the dogs, however, the SPCA can't do anything until after a hearing at 10 a.m. Friday in Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace Rhonda Welch's office in Gladewater, when ownership of the animals will be determined and then likely taken away. After that, the SPCA can begin the adoption process.

The dogs at the Upshur County site included toy breeds such as Boston, Jack Russell and Yorkshire terriers, Chihuahuas, Chinese Cresteds and poodles, among others. There were no large-breed dogs at the site.

The SPCA's Web-site,www.spca.org, advises it also removed more than 100 animals from a similar property in Young County. Those animals are ready for adoption and their photos can be seen online. Adoption fees vary and all of the animals adopted from the shelter must be spayed or neutered.

To help the SPCA fund rescues, like this and to support the SPCA's other programs and services, visit www.spca.org/helptheanimals.