A Parker County man is accused of animal cruelty after sheriff's deputies found a dog dead and two others without adequate shade or water in a sweltering outdoor kennel Saturday, investigators say.
A news release from the Parker County Sheriff's Office said an animal control officer responded to a welfare check at a home in the 200 block of Fairview Road in Millsap, about 10 miles west of Weatherford.
The officer found a dog dead with no water and two others showing signs of heat exhaustion, the release said.
The kennels were were in "direct sun with the outside temperature registering over 100 degrees," the release said. The two dogs that were alive were "panting heavily with little water made available," the release said.
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A concerned passerby reported hearing the dogs barking and brought them water, deputies said.
The owner of the dogs, identified as 38-year-old Levi Tenbrink, told investigators he had been searching for tarps to provide the dogs shade but couldn't find any. He said he had given the dogs water before he left town that morning, the deputies said.
Deputies reported noticing a portable shelter behind the home that had shade but wasn't being used. Tenbrink said that the dogs had been barking at passersby from the shaded kennel, so he moved them.
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The dogs that survived were brought to a local veterinarian for treatment.
Tenbrink faces a charge of cruelty to non-livestock animals.
