Texas Rangers open an investigation into the Marlin animal shelter

MARLIN, Texas (KWTX) – Nearly five months ago dogs at the Marlin animal shelter were found living in deplorable conditions, causing the death of at least two dogs.

When pictures came out showing the horrific conditions dogs in the Marlin animal shelter had been living in, there was a huge public outcry.

That’s when the Justice for Marlin Dogs group came together, demanding someone be held accountable for letting this happen, but with no luck.

According to Dorene Burlew with the group, “once we realized that there was not going to be an arrest or charges filed then we decided that we needed to pursue other outside agencies.”

They started a petition calling for the Texas Rangers to investigate the animal shelter and have spent the last few months protesting and spreading the word.

Thanks to some help from state officials their group was finally able to get in contact with the Texas Rangers, who have now officially opened an investigation.

“We’re very excited to be able to have the Texas Rangers involved, to be able to move forward since we were at a standstill for so long,” shared Valerie Mann with the group. “Having them involved right now and having them move forward gives us a lot of hope.”

But while this an exciting development for the group, they know it isn’t over yet and there’s still a lot to be done as the Texas Rangers conduct a thorough investigation.

“They should be speaking to everybody that has had involvement with what happened, or that could testify or be a witness too,” Burlew says.

However, they’re hopeful that this will lead to an arrest and charges for everyone involved.

Burlew explained that “without that, the person responsible could continue to do this somewhere else to other animals, and so we need that accountability for this not to happen again.”

“It is a process and I always say justice is slow, justice is blind, but justice is coming,” said Frances Fischer with the group.

Until then the Justice for Marlin Dogs group will continue to rally and be a voice for the voiceless.

Texas DPS released a statement saying “The Texas Rangers are currently investigating alleged violations involving the Marlin Animal Control Facilities. The investigation is active and ongoing. Currently, no further information is available.”