The Dallas Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying two men who abandoned their dogs on the side of the road in southeast Dallas.
The men were caught on security cameras dumping their dogs off in the 2400 block of Dowdy Ferry Road.
The first incident occurred on June 3 around 5:15 p.m., when a man driving a red SUV with a black hardtop pulled over to the side of the road. He exited his car, opened the trunk, and let his Pitbull-type dog jump out.
Once the dog ran out, the man got back into his Jeep and drove away, leaving the dog chasing after him.
The second incident occurred on June 18 at about 12:05 p.m. on the same stretch of road. A male exited a dark-colored car, opened the passenger door to let out two Cane Corso dogs, and left them there.
Dowdy Ferry Road is notorious as a dumping ground for unwanted animals. In March of 2023, the Dallas Police Department arrested 41-year-old Ramiro Zuniga after surveillance video captured him abandoning a dog on the side of the roadway. Once captured, law enforcement discovered Zuniga was in America illegally, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Just two months later, video cameras caught two people abandoning a young pit bull on the road and driving away, per DX.
An organization called Dowdy Ferry Animal Commission was created in 2015 to raise awareness of the countless animals, both dead and alive, found on the side of Dowdy Ferry Road.
“Dallas animal advocate Jeremy Boss and his crew have found hundreds of abused, tortured and ultimately murdered dogs thrown in garbage bags and tossed on the side of the road on and near Dowdy Ferry Road,” the group’s website reads. “This section of Dowdy Ferry Road has become an illegal dumping ground for people’s trash and sadly dogs and other animals alive or dead.”
The Dowdy Ferry Animal Commission installed the security cameras that have caught previous suspects disposing of their animals along the roadway.
In Texas, abandoning an animal is considered animal cruelty. The crime is a Class A misdemeanor, which can result in jail time of a year, fines of up to $4,000, or both.
If someone is convicted of abandoning an animal more than once, they may face a felony charge, which can lead to two years in jail, up to $10,000 in fines, or both.
Last summer, the Humane Society of North Texas reported an increase in abandoned dogs near its facility in Fort Worth, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
The increase in abandoned dogs coincided with extremely high temperatures, creating a life-threatening situation for the animals. The Humane Society said that in a span of ten days, it found five abandoned dogs near its property, two of which died due to issues related to heat stroke.
“One video shows staff rushing to bring in a severely overheated chocolate Lab — unfortunately, his doggy companion died in the car before arriving at [Humane Society of North Texas]. In another video, you can see someone open their car door to abandon their dog next to our shelter before quickly driving away,” the Humane Society posted on Facebook.
“Yet another video shows an injured dog who was abandoned after the shelter closed trying to find shade. And then sadly, last night, shelter security found a 3-month-old Yorkie in a kennel outside in direct sun on a side street near our shelter. The person had come to our shelter and was asked to take the dog to our clinic ONE BLOCK AWAY — but instead they chose to leave the dog alone in a kennel on a street in the sweltering heat at 5:00 p.m. When our security guard found the puppy, he rushed it to our veterinarian and medical staff who bravely tried to save the puppy, but it was suffering too much. ”
Anyone with information regarding the two wanted suspects should contact DPD Crime Stoppers at 877-373–TIPS or the Animal Cruelty Unit at 214-671-0115.
Pet owners who can no longer care for their animals are encouraged to surrender them to Dallas Animal Services or the SPCA rather than abandon them.