Neighbors say dead dogs found in creek, police investigating

AUSTIN (KXAN) – People who live near Shiloh Drive off of Menchaca Road in south Austin saw what they counted as 11 dead dogs in South Boggy Creek.

“It’s pretty heartbreaking,” said Jason Brooks, who saw the dogs. “I’m an animal lover. [It] was a hard day for me.”

The Austin Police Department said it is “currently conducting an investigation in the vicinity of Shiloh Drive” in collaboration with Animal Protection. The department said it’s in the preliminary stages of the investigation, and it does not have any further information to release at this time.

Brooks said he walks his dogs on the trail next to the creek every day, as do most of his neighbors. Photos he took show some dogs wrapped in trash bags or covered with other garbage.

“Yeah just to see them like that, just a complete, a complete disregard for life,” Brooks said.

As authorities continue to investigate, they have not yet released information on how the dogs died.

KXAN will update this story when more details about the investigation become available.

According to the SPCA of Texas, the “Cruelty of Non-Livestock Animals” section of state law prohibits you from intentionally, knowingly or recklessly cruelly treating an animal. This includes torture, failing to provide food or water, killing or seriously injuring an animal and abandoning an animal, among other things.

Prior to 2001, according to the State Bar of Texas, animal cruelty was not considered a felony under Texas law. Now, it’s punishable by a $10,000 fine and up to two years in jail.

KXAN received the tip about the dogs found in Boggy Creek when viewers reached out to us through our ReportIt portal.

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