Tiger owner claims police took photos, played with animals
A Houston woman accused of letting tigers, monkeys, a skunk and other animals roam freely through the family’s home last month took aim at police Friday, saying her animals were all caged until officers asked to take selfies with them.
“The only animal that was on the loose was the one they asked me bring out so they could play with it,” Trisha Meyer said outside a Harris County courtroom, where she had made a court appearance.
“Multiple police officers asked me to take their photos, on their personal phones, with the tiger.”
The 34-year-old mother is charged with child endangerment for allegedly letting her animals roam free in the house with her 14-year-old daughter. Meyer bit back at prosecutors, saying that officers left without arresting her or taking her daughter into protective custody.
“If I’m charged with child endangerment, then they should be, too, for leaving my daughter with me,” she said.
The officers first contacted Meyer when they received a complaint that she had refused to send an exotic cat to a buyer in California after receiving $3,000. In that case, she is charged with felony theft. She denied any wrongdoing in both cases.
Meyer, formerly an animal control officer from San Angelo, said she employs a full-time zookeeper to help her rehabilitate animals and run a business of “cub petting.”
Cub petting, according to Meyer, is a business in which people from all over the world come to pet exotic animals while they are tiny.
“The night that all the cops came, we thought it was pretty cool,” she said of the police visit in September. “I didn’t know it was a hostile situation.”
She said she was later cited for not having the proper permits, a charge she admitted and has since resolved, she said.
In addition to the trio of tiger cubs, Meyer had a large male tiger. She also has several monkeys, a cougar and a fox.
Prosecutors disputed her account, saying photos on social media show the animals roaming her home uncaged.
“It was literally like a zoo,” said Assistant Harris County District Attorney Chauntelle Wood.