A Fort Worth dog trainer was arrested and charged with animal cruelty Thursday after three service dogs died inside her car in July.
Sherri Taylor was charged with three counts of cruelty to non-livestock animals on Thursday.
Taylor took three service dogs on July 24 to a veterinarian office, where she left the dogs in the car while she walked in to visit with coworkers, according to a Fort Worth police report. Taylor left the car on with the air conditioning running and had a sensor that was supposed to go off if the car got too hot, dog owners Lezlie Kurtz and Brooke King said.
However, the sensor was not working. The car died and the dogs were left in the nearly 100-degree heat, according to the police report.
Vinny, a 6-pound Pomeranian, Alice, a 17-month-old bull Mastiff and Cane Corso mix, and Bronx, a German Shepherd, died in the car.
King, Vinny’s owner, said he was “the only constant” in her life.
“And to have that ripped from you — that’s a feeling that is indescribable,” she said.
Alice helped military veteran Max Kurtz in his struggle with PTSD. Max Kurtz’ wife, Lezlie Kurtz, likened Alice’s death to that of losing a child.
Taylor couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.
___
© 2019 the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
