Texas: Montgomery County Animal Shelter employees sold animals for profit, official alleges

TEXAS -- A day after the Montgomery County Animal Shelter's interim director alleged former employees had sold dogs from the shelter for personal profit, the county commissioner who oversees the shelter confirmed  that local law enforcement is investigating.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Jim Clark told the Chronicle on Wednesday morning, "I think that law enforcement is looking into it. ... Certainly there's going to be an investigation."

"Due to a pending investigation, I'm unable to comment," Clark said, adding that county legal staff had instructed him not to speak about the issue.

The shelter's interim director, Dr. Todd Hayden, had aired the allegations during a public session of commissioners court on Tuesday.

"In our county, if you lost your dog and you were on your way to work and it was picked up and brought to our shelter, it was probably flipped before you got home," he said. "It went to a rescue and it was sold. A lot of people made a lot of money."

Hayden said employees sold the animals before the end of the stray hold -- a period usually lasting three days when stray animals are held in case owners come to pick them up.

The interim director said he had counted 228 animals sold before the stray hold was up, including 56 that went the same day they were brought in.

He appeared to connect the charges to the ongoing acrimony among volunteers and former employees over the shelter's direction. "People that are complaining (were) making money," he said.

Reached Wednesday morning, Hayden said he had no comment because the city attorney's office asked him not to discuss the issue due to an ongoing investigation.

(Houston Chronicle - Sept 28, 2016)