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The latest case of pet abandonment involves three turtles crammed into ice chests and a female pit bull mix found Monday morning after an eviction near Montana Street on the East Side.

When ACS officers entered the East Side apartment they found two large turtles in less than two inches of brackish, green water, in an ice chest so small they couldn’t turn around. A smaller turtle, also in very little water, had an extensive crack on its shell from tip of the tail to its head.

Leeches, more than an inch long, were attached to the turtles’ shells, which indicates they were removed from a local waterway, ACS officials said. The young dog was malnourished and had hair loss.

Joel Skidmore, ACS field operations supervisor with animal cruelty investigations, said abandoned animals range from someone dumping an animal on the side of the road and driving off to leaving an animal at a residence.

“Unfortunately, it’s what we deal with,” he said. “Our primary objective is to save the animals and make sure that we do everything we can to hold the perpetrator accountable. When an animal is abandoned they can’t ask for help. That’s where we need to step in and do everything we can to hold the person accountable and remove the animal from the situation its living in.”

According to Chapter 5 of the city’s ordinance, pet abandonment is illegal in San Antonio. Based on the severity of neglect, pet owners could face animal cruelty charges ranging from a misdemeanor to a state jail felony.

vtdavis@express-news.net

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