- Texas, USA -
On the afternoon of Sunday, September 4, 2022, the McAllen Police Department responded to a welfare concern at a home on 1121 N. Fifth Street occupied by 48-years-old PAOLA ANDREA GAYTAN HERNANDEZ (pictured).
Police said a concerned neighbor called them to report a constant loud barking coming from HERNANDEZ’s residence. According to police, neighbors reported hearing dogs barking throughout the night and feared the dogs were possibly chained up and injured.
Upon arrival, officers made contact with HERNANDEZ who said that some of the dogs in the backyard were hers, and the others she was watching for a friend.
In the backyard officers found multiple Labradoodle and Yorkshire dogs. Some of them were held by a chain-linked leash and others were being kept in cages. None of them had access to food or water, and they were all surrounded by their own fecal matter. The ones who were chained had limited space to move around.
Among the dogs police saw a black female Labradoodle held by a chain-linked leash who had open wounds on her left back leg and asked HERNANDEZ about her. HERNANDEZ said the Labradoodle wasn’t hers and that a friend asked her to “take care of temporarily.”
Officers also reported the presence of a black cat kept in a cage without food and a dirty water bowl, and a Yorkie in a separate cage who looked extremely malnourished. According to police, the dog had little to no hair and appeared to be suffering from severe illness.
Officers asked HERNANDEZ whether she had taken the dog to the veterinarian but as the investigation unfolded, HERNANDEZ was not able to prove that the injured animals had received veterinary care.
HERNANDEZ then led officers inside the home where they found more dogs. An Afghan Hound appeared to be neglected. Police did not find any sign of food or water for the dogs inside the residence.
According to the criminal complaint, while officers were observing the conditions of the animals, HERNANDEZ “was making numerous … phone calls and sending messages.”
At some point, a woman identified as Lizbeth Anahi Zarate, arrived at HERNANDEZ’s home and said that HERNANDEZ contacted her about picking up her dogs due to police being there.
The complaint stated that “Zarate further advised she has been breeding her dogs for years with [Hernandez].”
Police arrested HERNANDEZ on seventeen counts for not providing necessary food, water, care or shelter for pets, a Class A misdemeanor, and three counts of causing serious bodily injury to the degree that the pets are in a condition of dying, a third-degree felony.
Online records show she was released from the Hidalgo County Jail on Wednesday, September 7, 2022.
ANDREA GAYTAN HERNANDEZ, if you need money, sell yourself!
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