When police officers arrived at the Abilene/Taylor County Animal Services shelter in Texas Friday morning, they found a deceased canine and others injured. They also had to track down more than 150 escaped dogs.
According to the Abilene Police Department, 38-year-old George Paul Jones of Abilene climbed the facility fence, entered the building through a roof and opened many cages, freeing the canines.
Authorities arrived around 7 a.m. at the shelter, located at 925 S. 25th St. After Jones opened the cages, some of the dogs fought amongst themselves, resulting in the injuries. Some also managed to escape the property through an outside gate. Animal shelter crews attempted to locate the missing animals.
As of the end of last month, there were 201 dogs in the shelter.
During the break in and animal release, there was damage to the inside of the building’s office area and other parts of the building, including the roof where the perpetrator entered.
“A van owned by the shelter was also stolen from the property and later recovered in north Abilene,” said police.
Later Friday detectives found Jones, who matched the description of a possible suspect, and brought him in for questioning. He was officially arrested and charged with breaking in to the shelter, animal cruelty, and theft of a motor vehicle.
Jones was being held at the Taylor County Jail as of Friday.
“The City of Abilene’s Animal Services Program strives to find suitable homes for as many animals as possible through its adoption program,” said the shelter website. “Many of the animals at the Shelter and Adoption Center are available for adoption. The Shelter and Adoption Center also works with other local organizations to place animals in suitable homes.”
The shelter does also offer euthanasia services for animal owners.
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