Be a voice for the voiceless
The Horrors Discovered at Marlin City Animal Shelter
On January 9, 2024, a local resident, Jeffrey Rich, visited the city's animal shelter in Marlin, TX and discovered several dogs that were malnourished or dead, without access to water or food, and covered in feces and urine. He posted his videos and photos for the world to see on Facebook. The City Police Chief, James Hommel, provides leadership over the animal shelter and supervised the full-time Animal Control Officer on duty, Nicole Grams. Disturbingly, Chief Hommel responded by asking Mr. Rich to remove his social media post and admitted publicly that he cleaned up the scene before an investigation could occur. The Falls County Sheriff, Joe Lopez, also publicly admitted that Chief Hommel and his staff cleaned up the crime scene before proper investigation. Despite these public testimonies and Mr. Rich's social media posts, there have been no charges and no arrests for the alleged crimes. Chief Hommel was never placed on administrative leave. There is no confirmed termination of Nicole Grams. Falls County Sheriff Lopez states he is understaffed and overworked, preventing his team from investigating any time soon. He declines the community's pleas for assistance by the Texas Rangers. We as a community are calling for a fair, unbiased investigation and for those found responsible of these crimes to be held to the fullest legal consequences. We are calling for justice for the Marlin shelter dogs!
Rescued by Angels in Disguises
Thank you to:
Journey Home Rescue
Healing Heart Rehab
Pearl's Place
H2M2
Baby Gunn's Rescue
What Happened to the Surviving Shelter Dogs?
Upon learning of Mr. Rich's social media posts showing the horrors inside the closed city shelter, local animal advocates and rescues in the surrounding areas immediately jumped into action and responded to this community tragedy. Nine dogs were found alive, most severely malnourished and in poor health, infected with parasites and worms. Unfortunately, one dog was found dead and looked to have starved to death as its body was nothing but skin and bones.
Animal advocates and rescue owners reported they walked by hundreds of pounds of unopened dog food to get to the kennels where the surviving dogs were kept. They were horrified at seeing the conditions of the surviving dogs. They were able to successfully remove all surviving shelter dogs safely, where eight dogs went to rescues and fosters for medical care before adoption, and one dog was adopted by Mr. Rich, who discovered and reported the shelter conditions.
The community is forever grateful to the local animal advocates and the five rescues who stepped in to save these babies: Journey Home Rescue, Healing Heart Rehab, Pearl's Place, H2M2 Nation, and Baby Gunn's Rescue. If you would like to donate to the Marlin shelter dogs, please donate to these 501(c)(3) registered rescues directly. You can find more information under 'How to Help'.
Where Are We Today?
The Marlin Shelter Dogs Need Your Voice!
On January 31, 2024, the Falls County Sheriff, Joe Lopez, shared that he is down four investigators in addition to needing ten officers to begin with. He reports that he and his team are overworked and understaffed. He says to be prepared for a lengthy investigation as they do not have enough time or resources to dedicate. In the meantime while we wait, there have been zero arrests...zero charges...zero answers.
We understand the high demands of our officers and support their call to duty for our public safety. As concerned citizens, we commend the tough job they do as we back our Blue! We support their need for help, especially during staffing shortages, so we recommend to Sheriff Lopez that he request assistance from the Texas Rangers. Unfortunately, he has refused. Sheriff Lopez swore to uphold and protect the law. We are asking him to call in the Texas Rangers for a fair and unbiased investigation. We call for justice for the Marlin shelter dogs!!
