A small dog found in a crate with its muzzle wrapped in duct tape on San Antonio's far West Side has landed its owner in jail on a felony animal cruelty charge, according to authorities. Sheriff’s deputies said they pulled the dog from the crate on Thursday, seized a second dog from the property, and reported that the injured animal was stable after being taken into care. The case started when a community member called in a tip that morning.
KABB / FOX San Antonio reported that deputies were dispatched at about 9:24 a.m. to the 11700 block of Culebra Road after the report of a dog with its muzzle taped shut. Investigators said they found the animal in a crate with duct tape around its mouth and that the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Animal Crimes Enforcement Unit executed a seizure warrant at the scene. A 51-year-old woman was arrested and booked on a charge listed by the sheriff’s office as Cruelty to Nonlivestock Animals - Torture, which is a state jail felony.
Investigation and custody
According to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, both dogs were turned over to Bexar County Animal Control and are receiving medical attention. The county notes that the Animal Crimes Enforcement (ACE) unit, created in November 2024 to investigate animal crimes, led both the seizure and the arrest. Officials are asking anyone with additional information to call 210-335-6000 or email [email protected].
What the charge carries
Under Texas law, intentional torture or conduct that causes serious injury to an animal is treated as a more serious offense within the state’s cruelty statutes. The cruelty-to-nonlivestock provision, Texas Penal Code § 42.092, covers acts such as torture and cruel confinement. State jail felonies are generally punishable by 180 days to two years of confinement and fines up to $10,000 under the state’s punishment rules in Penal Code Chapter 12.
A pattern in Bexar County
The arrest adds to a string of recent cruelty and neglect investigations across Bexar County that have tested shelter capacity and enforcement resources. For instance, KSAT reported that seven dogs were seized from a West Side RV in March, and a June case covered by dead Dobermann found rotting involved deputies discovering a Dobermann dead inside a filth-lined kennel. Local officials say quick tips from the public often make the difference between rescuing surviving animals and arriving too late.
The 51-year-old woman remains in custody on the state jail felony charge, and information on bond or court dates was not immediately available. The county’s Animal Crimes Enforcement unit continues to ask that anyone with tips call 210-335-6000 or email [email protected].
