The founder of Animal Rescue League, Loretta Hyde, told KFOX14 a resident in the Kern Place neighborhood brought the alleged abuse to her attention.
“I found out they had already given the video to animal services back in August and for whatever reason they didn't follow through on the video,” Hyde said.
"The only complaint that I am aware of that was sent to Animal Services is an email by a Lt. from the police department on 12/10/2014 at 8:59 a.m., which was then forwarded to the field operations supervisors," stated shift supervisor Mark Carrasco for Animal Services of El Paso in an email.
Fernandez is reportedly seen on the video abusing a dog, choking it and slamming it on the ground.
Another clip shows the dog limping around. Pictures given to KFOX14 show a broken fan with blood on it that neighbors say Fernandez threw a dog into.
“You don't know what's going on or what this little puppy had to endure before he finally killed him. It’s is just unconscionable,” Hyde said.
Hyde says the man got the dogs off of Craigslist instead of going through a traditional shelter that has paperwork associated with it.
“There’s no way to track them down, there's no paper trail there's nothing there that you can go back and say 'hey you got the dog from this place where is it? What happened to it?'”
She warns pet owners to beware of who they give animals to before allowing a person to take them.
Hyde also worries that the burden of proof is too high for animal cruelty charges and the punishment is too lenient.
“Unfortunately, they (investigators) don't treat animals the same as they do children so it's not a priority,” she said.
According to police, investigators met with Fernandez on Sept. 9 at a home in the 1000 block of Mesita and discovered a pit bull puppy there had injuries. The puppy was taken into custody, said police.
In a separate incident on Dec. 9, police officers responded to the same house and found an injured 3-month-old German shepherd.Investigators discovered that the dog had fallen of the roof of the home after Fernandez had put the dog on the roof.
The man is now being held in the El Paso County Detention Facility on a $3,000 bond with the investigation underway.
Neighbors of Fernandez spoke with KFOX14 off camera, fearing for retaliation when the man is released from jail. They say they have filed at least 18 complaints collectively about abuse they have seen and heard. One neighbor says he saw Fernandez leave a puppy in the middle of the street that was cowering and shaking. The neighbor said Fernandez told him he was training the dog.
“They have no voice we are their voice we need to stand up for them and it needs to be taken into account that when you start this type of behavior what's it going to lead to,” Hyde said.
Police ask for anyone with information regarding this case to call police at 915-832-4400.
(KFOXTV - Dec 13, 2014)
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