Serious allegations of inhumane treatment of animals surfaced in Mercedes.
Some residents there said the city's animal shelter used plastic bags to suffocate dogs and save on euthanization costs then threw them away in a dumpster.
One look inside the dumpster left one Mercedes woman in tears and outraged all at the same time.
Dogs and even cats were found dead inside.
The smell of the decomposing carcasses was too strong to bare, for more than just a few seconds.
However, Mercedes residents said the animals have been in the dumpster for several days.
The allegations got back to Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada, who is an advocate for animals.
Shortly after hearing about the allegations, he submitted a letter to the Lower Rio Grande Development Council asking for an investigation and proper punishment.
Ahumada said euthanizing animals by suffocating them is “barbaric.”
"I can just imagine the anguish and the just the suffering these pets have gone through," Ahumada said. “The question is who would do such a thing to a defenseless animal?”
In his letter, Ahumada is asking that the LRGVDC pass a resolution against this practice of euthanasia and against the inhumane treatment of animals.
He also wants communities to find alternatives to euthanasia by way of education, spay, neutering and aggressively promoting adoptions.
The mayor said the resolution can support a House Bill introduced by Representative Eddie Lucio III to tax all pet products with the proceeds going towards grants for cities that want "no kill" shelters.
"I think we have a duty just to treat this issue just as important as all other issues that we face in our community,” Ahumada said. “We look like a third-world country and this says a lot about us as communities - as to how we treat our animals."
Mayor Ahumada is also encouraging all Valley Mayors and citizens to be more proactive the humane treatment of animals because it’s the only voices they have.
Ahumada said he will ask the Cameron County District Attorney to seek felony charges for whoever is responsible.
Action 4 News will be contacting the animal shelter for their response in regards to the abuse allegations.
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