Beaumont Animal Care officers received an anonymous tip that animals were being bred for dogfighting, Sept. 30, on Pine Street in Downtown Beaumont.
“They heard reports of dogs fighting, and they could see what looked like malnourished dogs that were being housed in improper conditions,” Viviana Lopez, adoption and marketing coordinator, said. “One of our officers did go out to the scene, and that’s when she was able to see exactly how many animals were on the property, and the condition they were being kept in.”
BAC officers seized four litters of dogs, 32 dogs in total. Twenty dogs were under a year old, and the rest were all adults, Lopez said.
Lopez said the officers found evidence associated with dogfighting, such as weighted collars, injectable antibiotics and treadmills.
Prior to the seizure, Lopez said law enforcement gave the owners notice about the excessive number of dogs that were housed on their property, but the issue remained.
“Within the city limits of Beaumont, you’re only allowed to have eight animals, and so (the officer) was trying to give (the owner) time to correct that issue, and correct their housing and rehome them,” Lopez said. “Unfortunately, when she went in for her recheck, she said the conditions actually seemed to have worsened, and none of the dogs had been rehomed. So that is when she decided to get a seizure warrant for the property.”
The seizure hearing happened on Oct. 7, when Jefferson County Justice of the Peace Ben Collins Sr. granted Beaumont Animal Care full custody of 32 dogs. However, due to prior issues concerning capacity, it has put a strain on the shelter’s ability to house more animals.
“We’re almost always at our max capacity, so we definitely didn’t have room to welcome 32 dogs, especially some of them that didn’t get along with other dogs,” Lopez said. “We worked a lot with our rescue partners, sponsors and adopters. Luckily, everyone in our community was really great and understanding.”
While the 20 dogs that were under a year old were sent to a rescue and are not available for adoption through Beaumont Animal Care, there are still 12 adult dogs available for adoption, Lopez said, adding that anyone interested in adoption requires a vet check, references, and home visits.
Lopez said she encourages members of the community to report any suspected incidents of animal cruelty to BAC as well as the Beaumont police department.
“If you see something, say something,” she said. “If no one would have said something, animals would have still continued to be put into harm’s way and the cycle would have just continued.”
Anyone interested in adopting an animal can visit the shelter at 1884 Pine St. in Beaumont. Business hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. They are also open Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
An online adoption application is also available at beaumonttexas.gov/167/Animal-Care.
However, if adoption seems too big of a commitment, fostering is also available, Lopez said.
“We are always looking for space for animals,” she said. “With five to 20 animals coming in each day, we’re grateful for any extra space we can get.”
For more information, call 409-838-3304, or visit Beaumont Animal Care on Facebook or Instagram.