76 animals rescued

He’s only been an animal control officer for a year, but James Tidwell may have made the biggest find he’ll ever get when he was called Tuesday to the 12200 block of Drivers Haul of Fame Street in West Odessa.

“I felt a little shocked,” he said. “I knew this was something that couldn’t wait to be dealt with.”

Assisted by the Ector County Sheriff’s Office, the Odessa Police Department’s animal control division quickly got a warrant from Justice of the Peace Eddy Spivey. Manager Cheryl Brom said they found 28 dogs the first day, before darkness forced them to call it a night.

“They were in piles of their own defecation,” Brom said.

And the feces was dry, which Brom said indicates the animals hadn’t been fed in weeks. She suspected some might have cannibalized dead animals.

On Wednesday, officers went back for two more runs. Officers were able to rescue a total of 72 dogs, mostly Chihuahuas, three cats and a pig.

“The smell is a dead giveaway something is going on on the property,” Brom said.

While the feeding areas at the scene were either empty or molding over the first two times animal control officers went to look for animals, Brom said food had been put out by the third time. She said it is typical of people facing cruelty charges to place food out once they realize they’ve been busted.

She added that a rusty rifle had been moved from inside a trailer to being set in front of a truck — which she took as a message being sent.

“I thought what does that mean?” Brom said. “What are they trying to say to us?”

Along with the Chihuahuas, the dogs include a pure-breed dachshund, as well as two collie mixes with 13 puppies between them.

This was not the first time the property, which includes several ramshackled trailers, had been brought to animal control’s attention. Brom said that in 2007 animal control officers investigated the conditions of the site after someone reported a puppy they bought there that got sick.

“The officer’s report stated that there was some neglect, but not as bad as this,” she said.

Brom said that, in that type of situation, it’s animal control’s job to educate owners on how to properly treat animals. And documenting past experiences is valuable when working with the county attorney’s office on filing charges.

“It starts paving the way for cruelty charges,” she said.

Brom said the property was likely a “puppy mill” at one point.

“At one time, they had something going on,” she said. “Right now, they were just sitting there hording them.”

Brom warned residents about buying dogs from people who aren’t licensed breeders.

A hearing has been set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, at which the animal control unit will argue for custody of the animals, Brom said.

There haven’t been any arrests in the case, and Brom decline to name any suspects.

After that, she said animal control would be able to adopt out the animals that don’t have to be euthanized. She hopes to start finding them new homes shortly after Thanksgiving.

“Before Christmas, maybe they’ll find better homes,” she said.

Brom said this was the most abusive case she’d seen, worse than the 25 roosters she rescued last year, worse than the 121 feral cats that were put down after being seized in 2003. Like this week’s rescue, those animals were also being kept in West Odessa.

“I try to be professional,” Brom said. “Inside, I’m boiling. We always try to be professional, but it’s hard because we love animals.”

Housing this many animals puts a strain on animal control’s resources. Before the day was over, Brom was at Wal-Mart buying dog food.

Even with the extra work, Tidwell said he was confident that his department would be able to handle the situation.

“There wasn’t any fear, cause I knew we could take care of it,” he said.