SAN ANTONIO – A man was arrested after Bexar County sheriff’s deputies found a dog that was “skin and bones” in his backyard.
Sheriff Javier Salazar said the suspect, Cesar DeJesus DeHoyos, 36, was charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals/torture, a third-degree felony, on Sunday.
Deputies received a call about a dog chained to a tree with no food, water or shade in the backyard of a home in Northeast Bexar County, Salazar said.
When they arrived, they found the dog, which Salazar described as “basically skin and bones,” tied with a heavy tow chain about 2 feet long.
The dog looked like a German Shepherd mix but due to his malnourished condition, it was hard to tell his breed.
“It was pretty clear that the dog was not doing well and was probably not going to survive much longer,” Salazar said.
Deputies called the owner, identified as DeHoyos, and waited for him to return home from SeaWorld. He was taken into custody.
The dog was taken to the veterinarian, and his condition is unknown.
Three other dogs were in the yard, including a puppy that was malnourished. The two other dogs appeared to be a breeding pair of German Shepherds and looked “very healthy.”
Salazar said it appeared that DeHoyos was trying to starve the chained-up dog, as investigators said they have “never seen a dog that skinny alive.”
“It was pretty bad,” he said.
DeHoyos claimed the chained-up dog ran away for a while and returned malnourished, Salazar said. He said he was trying to nurse it back to health.
“It just seemed like a flat-out lie,” Salazar said.
DeHoyos surrendered the dogs, Salazar said. Records show that DeHoyos’ bond was set at $40,000.
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