Two dogs left to die in vacated Fort Worth apartment

By Susan McFarland

smcfarland@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH -- Animal control officers are investigating the death of an abandoned dog that was left on a Fort Worth apartment balcony with no food or water after its owners moved out.

Another dog was found alive inside despite having no air-conditioning, food or water.

That dog was malnourished but is expected to live and was taken to Fort Worth Animal Care and Control, said Brandon Bennett, director of code compliance.

Bennett said city officials received a call Monday about the dogs, both pit bull mixes, from the Hulen Gardens apartments on Tallow Wind Trail.

Because of the back log of priority one calls, animal control officers could not respond to the call until Wednesday, Bennett said.

"We were running 381 priority calls behind when the call came in. Each officer can get to about 13 calls per day," Bennett said. "We try to get out there within 24 hours, but when we get this many calls behind, it takes us a little longer."

An animal control officer on the scene took a temperature reading inside the apartment, and it read 90 degrees, Bennett said.

"We are seeing more situations where people get evicted and leave their animals behind," he said.

Also increasing is the number of animals dropped off at shelters, said Peggy Brown of the Humane Society of North Texas in Fort Worth.

The surge in abandoned pets is likely because of trying economic conditions, including an increase in foreclosures.

"We always get the puppies and the kittens left in the back yards and animals that people are not attached to," Brown said.

"The biggest change is, we are getting more purebreds and mixes that are well-trained, beautiful dogs that have been cared for from owners who lost their homes and are not able to take the dogs with them."

Brown said the humane society works actively with purebred rescue groups to place abandoned pets, but lately even those organizations are saying no because they are full.

Brown said some people are afraid to bring their pet in because they are either embarrassed or don't want them to be euthanized.

"But that's a much kinder fate than leaving them to starve in an abandoned house," she said. "At least they still have a chance of adoption that way."

Susan McFarland, 817-390-7684

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