Puppies rescued in neglect case

Two suspects face related charges

One man is in custody and an arrest warrant has been issued for another in the case of three allegedly abandoned puppies who were reunited with their mother Friday.

Evidence, including security video, led Arkansasside animal control and law enforcement officers to the suspects. They are accused of leaving the puppies, who were approximately one week old, outside the Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Center on a sweltering day when it was closed.

Texarkana, Ark., Police Department arrested George Eskew on Friday morning and charged him with three counts of misdemeanor animal abandonment and neglect. As of Friday afternoon, he was being held in the Bi-State Jail. A warrant on identical charges has been issued for Eskew’s

brother Richard Eskew.

At about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, security cameras captured video images of two men arriving at the animal shelter in a red Dodge pickup. The men discovered the shelter was closed for the day and then left three puppies in a box on a concrete sidewalk in front of the door—despite a large sign posted nearby warning that abandoning animals is a crime.

Shortly after 5 p.m., a city animal control officer went to the shelter to pick up some empty plastic jugs he planned to use making a trotline. He found the puppies and rescued them.

“The puppies were in extreme heat distress and could not have lasted much longer,” shelter Director Charles Lokey wrote in an incident report used to obtain the arrest warrants. “They were exposed to extreme heat and sun. The puppies were overheated and very dehydrated.”

The temperature that day reached 96 degrees, matching the record high for the date, according to the National Weather Service.

A debit card in the box and the license plate of the truck—as well as tips from citizens who saw the security video on social media— led to identification of the Eskew brothers, Lokey said. Arrest warrants were issued for them Thursday.

Until Friday, staff took care of the puppies at the shelter during the day and at their homes at night, feeding them milk from a bottle. A staff member named them Pearl, Diamond and Platinum.

Acquaintances of George Eskew took in the puppies’ mother and a fourth puppy from the litter who had stayed with her, Lokey said. Friday afternoon the family was reunited, and the dogs will stay together in a foster home until their legal status is resolved.

Lokey said he plans to ask the court to forbid the suspects from owning any animals in the future.

Staff photo by Karl Richter ■ Kim King with the Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Center bottle-feeds a puppy named Pearl on Friday at the center. Pearl is one of three puppies allegedly abandoned at the animal shelter June 2, when it was closed. One man has been arrested in the...

Staff photos by Karl Richter right A dog is shown after being reunited with three of her puppies on Friday at the Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Center.

above Puppies Diamond, bottom, and Platinum wait for a bottle feeding Friday at the Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Center. The pair are two of three puppies allegedly abandoned at the animal shelter June 2, when it was closed.

Staff photo by Karl Richter ■ A sign warning against abandoning animals is shown Friday at the Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Center. Two men allegedly abandoned three puppies at the animal shelter June 2, when it was closed. One man has been arrested in the case and charged...