Upgraded, more charges possible for woman who surrendered 11 malnourished dogs

Timeline details multiple incidents

WILSON COUNTY, Texas – A Wilson County woman who has surrendered at least 85 dogs in the last 17 months has also had a multitude of emergency calls to her home in recent years related to animal complaints, records released to KSAT.com show.

KSAT obtained records dating back to 2015 that include written reports from the Wilson County Sheriff's Office showing complaints of alleged animal neglect by Glori Penshorn.

Penshorn, to date, has faced a single misdemeanor charge.

Penshorn, who ran BNG Foster Program out of her home, surrendered 74 dogs to the WCSO on April 6, 2018, and an additional 11 dogs late last month, according to public records.

Penshorn disputes that claim, however, and told KSAT via telephone Thursday the 11 dogs from August were not surrendered, they were taken.

RECENT REPORT: More 'severely emaciated' dogs found at house of woman with history of animal mistreatment

"Nothing was seized or surrendered. Where's the paperwork?" said Penshorn.

Penshorn was arrested Aug. 31 on a Class A misdemeanor charge of cruelty to non-livestock animals, which carries a punishment of up to one year in jail and/or a $4,000 fine.

Wilson County officials said Friday the investigation is not over, and prosecutors say they are considering upgrading Penshorn's misdemeanor charge to a felony. Additional charges are expected.

Alena Berlanga, with No Kill Animal Shelter in Wilson County, said one of the 11 dogs she took in has made an amazing recovery.

"Even the vet was not very optimistic that she would survive," she said.

The other dogs now seem to be thriving.

"They doing tremendously better. They've all gained at least 10 pounds," Berlanga said.

UPDATE ON ANIMAL CRUELTY CASE IN LA VERNIA ON 08/31/19: ***WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES*** These 11 dogs were removed from...

Posted by Wilson County No Kill Animal Shelter Inc on Sunday, September 1, 2019

No charges were filed in the 2018 incident due to Penshorn's cooperation with the investigation. Read more on that here.

"Tom Caldwell refused to file charges against Penshorn regardless of the evidence against her because she cooperated with the investigation," said Partners for Animal Welfare and Safety spokesperson Kris John.

Caldwell, the Wilson County Attorney, released a statement to KSAT that can be read here.

"Cooperation doesn't absolve you of your crimes. That's not the way the law should work," John told KSAT.

One of the dogs surrendered in August, which was unable to walk and had to be carried off Penshorn's property, died due to starvation, anemia, parasitic infestation and dehydration several days later, according to an official with Wilson County No Kill Animal Shelter.

2018 REPORT: More than 60 dogs surrendered by foster program in Wilson Co. amid several resident complaints 

Penshorn told KSAT the dog that died was found at a gas station the night before and that someone dropped the dog off at her property. "I said, 'There's nothing I can do, and you need to take them to the vet,'" she said. "They said they would leave the dog and contact the vet and come back and the deputy showed up 10 minutes later, and that's when I was arrested."

Timeline

The timeline below details 20 calls for service to Penshorn's address in the 400 block of Hidden Deer from 2015 to 2017:


**If you're having trouble viewing the timeline, click here.

Among the incidents:

  • Sheriff's Office report from Nov. 15, 2015, states that an officer was called to Penshorn's home after a passerby saw dogs fighting and a dead dog in the driveway. The deputy reported that Penshorn said she accidentally ran over one of her dogs and killed it and that some of the dogs were fighting over a food bowl.
  • A WCSO report from 2016 states two dogs were run over by a woman who came to pick up her animals after Penshorn fostered them. One died, and another suffered a broken leg, according to deputies. The woman told KSAT, "The dog was emaciated and was already dead in the grass." Deputies determined it was a civil matter because the dogs had to have been in the road. The woman said both her dogs were returned to her malnourished, missing hair and with sores from being attacked by other dogs.
  • In March 2017, a WCSO deputy noticed over 30 dogs in Penshorn's yard and a broken window on the house with clothes hanging out of it when called to the property for a suspicious vehicle on the side of the road. Penshorn said the car belonged to her and that she was in the process of getting the window fixed. The deputy's report states dogs were jumping out of the broken window. That report ends, "Glori told us everything was okay. No further action taken by deputies."
  • A complaint was made to deputies in May 2017 regarding dogs that appeared to have health issues at Penshorn's home. The dogs were inspected by veterinarians and one of them tested positive with sarcoptic mange which is transferrable to humans. All three tested positive for demadeptic mange. Penshorn claimed the dogs were abandoned at her home and deputies said they had no way of determining if Penshorn's foster dogs were mistreated, according to the report. The deputy said every time he went to Penshorn's house her gate was locked and he couldn't enter without a search warrant.

Animal shelter

All the vet bills are being paid through fundraising dollars because Wilson County doesn't have an animal shelter.

In regards to the Aug. 31 incident, Alena Berlanga, president of the WKNCS, said "The other 10 dogs have all gained about 10 pounds each and are all under veterinary care."

"We spent $23,000 on vet bills alone for the dogs surrendered in April 2018," Berlanga said.

Proposition 1, which passed on the November 2013 ballot for Wilson County, called for the construction of a county animal shelter, but the money ran out before one could be built.

"I am very loosely familiar with the facts. I do know that the bond was to finance a series of projects in priority order, with the animal shelter being either last or almost last. The story I have heard was that the county ran out of bond money before it got to the end of the list," Wilson County Attorney Tom Caldwell said.

KSAT reached out to County Judge Richard Jackson and all four commissioners for Wilson County for comments in regards to the bond money to build an animal shelter for the county. The only one to respond was Commissioner Paul Pfeil, who suggested we contact Jackson.

A request for calls for service from the Wilson County Sheriff's Office to Penshorn's home for 2018 and 2019 was placed Tuesday.

This story is developing.


About the Authors:

Jessie Degollado has been with KSAT since 1984. She is a general assignments reporter who covers a wide variety of stories. Raised in Laredo and as an anchor/reporter at KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley, Jessie is especially familiar with border and immigration issues. In 2007, Jessie also was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.

William Caldera has been at KSAT since 2003. He covers a wide range of stories including breaking news, weather, general assignments and sports.