Marlin Animal Shelter under investigation

City of Marlin Mayor Susan Byrd released a statement on Friday about the ongoing investigation into what led to the deplorable conditions at the City’s Animal Control Center. On Tuesday, Jan. 9, graphic photos and videos were posted to Facebook by Jeffrey Rich. These images and videos showed what appeared to be malnourished dogs living in their own feces. Several dogs were also found deceased at the shelter

The Facebook post quickly caught the attention of community members.

Throughout the day on Wednesday, several members of the community came together to adopt all eleven dogs that were inside of the shelter.

An investigation into the situation is now under the direction of the Falls County Sheriff’s Office. 

In the release Byrd said:

“First, let me say how heartbroken I am concerning the unacceptable situation at the Marlin Animal Shelter and my prayers go out to the animals, their owners and everyone else affected by this tragedy. I would like to extend a thank you to Dr. Rich, our local veterinarian, for volunteering her time to examine the dogs in the facility and providing immediate care. 

In addition, I world like to thank Peany Stone Bishop & Michele Ann, for their time and dedication in getting the dogs rehomed. And our special thanks to all the shelters and rescuers who stepped up and have been volunteering timeless hours to take in animals and who continue to provide them with much-needed care.

I want to assure you the City of Marlin takes this situation very seriously and, as a proponent for dog rescues, we are all working to cooperate with the investigation by the Falls County Sheriff’s Office. 

Thank you to Joe Lopez, who is personally heading up the independent investigation. Upon completion of the independent investigation by the FCSO, the City of Marlin will do our best to ensure the responsible parties are held accountable.

The City’s immediate actions are to identify the issues and implement solutions to those issues. Ongoing investigations prohibit me from commenting any further. However, my main objective today is to inform the citizens of Marlin that we are taking this seriously and we will be executing updated policies and procedures to prevent this from happening in the future.

Lastly, I was recently informed of possible planned protests against the City this weekend. While I admire and support the right to protest, and most certainly look forward to a positive result of any possible protest, (this entire situation has my heart broken) as the head of the Municipality of the City of Marlin I cannot engage in a protest against the city no matter what my personal feelings are.”

Protests were held over the weekend.