Man receives community service in animal cruelty case

TEXAS -- A man police believe was training dogs to fight, resulting in the death of at least one dog, has been sentenced to a stayed prison term and 150 hours of community work service.
 
Douglas Wayne Seidel, 26, of Austin, was sentenced Thursday in Mower County District Court, where he was charged in October with two felony counts of mistreating animals. He pleaded guilty to one of the counts in November; the other was dismissed.

Douglas Wayne Seidel

The investigation into the case began Oct. 6, when an Austin Police officer responded to a complaint of animal cruelty. He met with a man who told him there was a dead dog at Seidel's house, and the man believed Seidel had his two pit bull terriers attack and kill the animal, also a pit bull terrier.

The officer saw a text message from Seidel to another person that said, "hey you (expletive), i'm gonna kill you like i did her dog."

According to the criminal complaint, officers then went to Seidel's home, where he showed them a dead pit bull terrier named Jax that was wrapped in a blanket in a box on the back deck. Jax, who belonged to a woman Seidel knew, had multiple puncture wounds and bloody extremities, the report says.

Seidel allegedly told the officers he left the three dogs in their kennels inside the house the week before, but when he returned home, he discovered someone had broken into the house and let the dogs out. He claimed the intruders had provoked the dogs to fight because they'd never fought before.

Seidel said when he returned home, the dogs were actively fighting; Jax still was alive "but barely."

The dog's owner said Seidel had told her the same story about the intruders, though there was no sign of forced entry when they returned home. She said Jax was obviously badly injured, so she wanted to take him to the veterinarian, but Seidel reportedly said he could treat the dog. He also refused to report the alleged break-in to the police.

According to the complaint, Seidel poured water over Jax and gave him some type of capsules, but the dog died the next day.

Seidel told investigators he didn't take the animal to the vet because he didn't have the money to pay for services.

A search of his house revealed a rope tied to the ceiling; attached was a chew toy that was suspended several feet off the floor. An officer also photographed an apparatus that is used to train a dog to bite and hold, to promote a harder bite, the complaint says.

Seidel's cellphone reportedly contained photos of the bloody area where the dogs fought and a caption that read "no cops plz."

(Post-Bulletin - Feb 13, 2015)

Earlier:

• Austin man charged for alleged dogfighting