Triple-digit heat killed dog, hurt 2 others at Parker County home; owner arrested
Deputies found a dog dead from heat stroke Saturday and two other canines that had no shade or adequate water at a Parker County residence, authorities said.
The owner of the dogs was identified as Levi Tenbrink, 38, of Millsap, who was out of town at the time of the incident, the Parker County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Tenbrink told deputies that when the dogs were in a shaded kennel, they kept barking at passersby, so he moved them, according to the release.
The Millsap man was arrested Saturday after deputies found the dogs. He faces a charge of cruelty to non-livestock animals.
An investigation began Saturday after the sheriff’s office received a call for a welfare check at a residence in the 200 block of Fairview Lane.
A concerned citizen who reported hearing the dogs barking and saw they were penned in direct sunlight had brought them water in a portable tub.
A Parker County Sheriff’s Office animal control officer responded to the home and found the three dogs in kennels in direct sun with the outside temperature registering over 100 degrees, the release said.
Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier said the dogs were in distress and showed signs of heat exhaustion.
The deceased dog had no water inside its kennel, the sheriff’s office said. The remaining dogs were panting heavily with little water made available, according to the release.
Tenbrink later told animal control officers and deputies that he had been searching for tarps to provide the dogs with shade but was unsuccessful, and that he had left earlier that morning and gave them water before he left town.
Deputies reported finding a portable shelter behind the home, which did have adequate shade, but no dogs were inside that kennel.
The surviving dogs were taken to a veterinarian and underwent treatment for heat exhaustion and dehydration, the sheriff said.
It was determined through a necropsy that the one dog died from heat stroke and dehydration, authorities said.
