Amanda Villarreal was charged with animal cruelty, a class A misdemeanor, and accused of ignoring Rusty as he lay dying in her backyard with no food, no water and no shelter. The crime carried a penalty of up to one year in jail and/or a fine of $4,000.
Prosecutors asked for nine months.
County Court-at-Law Judge Scott Roberts gave her a $200 fine and 10 hours of community service.
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| Embarrassment: Judge Scott Roberts failed poor Rusty and Texans |
Calls to Roberts’ court went unanswered. Advocates who called reported that initially, someone who answered the phone was taking messages, but later in the day one picked up the phone. There was no voice mail.
"Bad cop" tag for this judge for choosing NOT to do the job he was elected to do.
Kelly Oyler, who fostered Rusty for 10 months, was shocked when she heard the news. Oyler said the court didn’t contact her, nor Animal Care Services investigators about attending the hearing.
“I felt very sad for Rusty, he deserved more justice than that,” she said. “If we can make sure that going forward this sort of thing doesn’t happen again, then that’s the silver lining to all of this.”
Last February, ACS cruelty investigators Manuel Flores and Joel Skidmore found Rusty in Villarreal’s backyard, north of Interstate 10 and Loop 410, near death. He was emaciated, nearly hairless because of mange and barely could move from the hole where he lay.
It was called one of the worst cases that ACS has handled in recent memory.
After receiving veterinarian care for several days, Rusty went to Oyler’s home to recuperate. She has experience in helping injured animals return to good health.
Shortly after taking Rusty in, Oyler created a Facebook page to share his story; the page had more than 1,600 likes and more than 400 comments just from Sunday night to Tuesday evening. Rusty now lives in New Hampshire with the Bellmare family. Its members were chosen by ACS from among hundreds of people from across the country who asked to adopt the dog.
Chris Bellmare, who flew more than 2,000 miles to adopt Rusty, said he’s received ongoing phone calls and e-mails from people upset about the verdict. Followers also have posted an online petition opposing the decision at change.org.
“An improper lane change while driving is a $202 fine,” a supporter wrote in a Facebook post. “The court feels that (Rusty’s) life is valued less than not using your blinker.”
Bellmare said the posts have gone viral.
“The sheer, 'This is just wrong,’ is coming from all over the world,” Bellmare said. “The comments from Texas and San Antonio, upset by this ruling, hopefully will continue to carry this ball forward and somewhere down the road, the next Rusty will get justice.”
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| Rusty with his new family in New Hampshire |
Recent photos show Rusty playing in the snow and relaxing inside with his new brother, Mugsy.
ACS spokeswoman Lisa Norwood said four investigators in the cruelty investigations unit work each animal cruelty case from the beginning until they forward it to the district attorney’s office for prosecution.
“When we put together our cases, we try to make sure that every single detail is attended to so our prosecuting partners have the strongest case to move forward,” she said, “and that's what we believe we did in Rusty’s case.”
Katie Jarl, Humane Society of the United States state director, said that despite what Roberts’ ruling may indicate, more cities in Texas are taking crimes against animals seriously.
“We have sheriffs and prosecutors that are willing to prosecute these crimes to the fullest extent of the law,” Jarl said. “People are paying attention and they care about crimes against animals; when they see justice not served in this way, they’re going to make decisions at the ballot box and engage their elected officials.”
(San Antonio Express-News - March 17, 2015)
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