07-05-2012 Animal Calls

          JULY 5, 2012.

PRESS RELEASE

An Azle hospital reported to Parker County Sheriff’s Animal Control officers that a 16-year-old female had been bitten by a young bobcat while attempting to rescue and cage it around midnight, Monday, July 2, 2012.

The juvenile victim’s mother reported she thought the bobcat’s mother had been injured and the baby bobcat had been abandoned nearVeal Station Road.

The bobcat was captured and taken to a nearby wildlife rescue for a quarantine period and if found with a clean bill of health, will be released into the permanent custody of the rescue facility.

The juvenile victim only sustained a minor puncture wound to her right index finger. She was treated and later released.

On a second, unrelated animal call, Sheriff’s Animal Control officers were notified by Reno Police that an 18-inch alligator was discovered in the 1100 block of Old Reno Road, July 3, 2012, around 7:30 p.m.

The alligator was discovered in a residential garage. Reno Police officers stated juveniles had apparently discovered the young alligator and placed it inside a plastic bucket until the officer arrived on scene.Renoofficers called for assistance from Parker County Sheriff’s Animal Control Officers, who took custody of the alligator.

Sheriff’s Animal Control officers contacted theTexasParksand Wildlife game warden, who agreed to turn the alligator over to theFort WorthNatureCenterand Refuge where it will be used for future children’s educational programs.

A third unrelated animal call was reported, where two lab-mix dogs had been shot in the 100 block ofGranada Court, later that same evening shortly after 8 p.m.

Sheriff’s deputies stated a man had been house-sitting for friends. The man came to the residence to feed the dogs and observed a deceased dog in the driveway with another dog which appeared to have injured by gunshot wounds inside the residence. Deputies contacted Sheriff’s Animal Control Officers, who transported the dogs to a local veterinarian. The veterinarian concluded both dogs had been shot, and through a necropsy that the deceased dog was killed due to gunshot wounds. The surviving dog is under veterinarian care and is expected to live. Officers discovered a blood trail with chicken feathers, leading them to believe the dogs had wandered off the property and were shot, then later returned to the home, where they were discovered.