Bobcat and alligator captured during week's animal calls

Related Photos

Parker County Sheriff's Office animal control officer Matt Anderson holds the young 18-inch alligator found in Reno Tuesday. COURTESY PHOTO
A 16-year-old tried to rescue this baby bobcat near Azle, but sustained minor injuries when the cat bit her. COURTESY PHOTO

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July 6, 2012

Bobcat and alligator captured during week's animal calls

Staff Writer CNHI The Weatherford Democrat Fri Jul 06, 2012, 08:01 AM CDT

PARKER COUNTY — Animal-related calls to the Parker County Sheriff’s Office this week included the capture of a young bobcat and an 18-inch alligator, as well as two dogs that were shot.

The unrelated calls started with an Azle hospital reporting Monday that a 16-year-old female had been bitten by a young bobcat while attempting to rescue and cage it around midnight. The victim’s mother told officials that she thought the bobcat’s mother had been injured and the baby bobcat had been abandoned near Veal Station Road.

The bobcat was captured and taken to a nearby wildlife rescue for a quarantine period, said Parker County Sheriff’s officials. If it’s given a clean bill of health, the young bobcat will be released into the permanent custody of the rescue facility.

The victim sustained a minor puncture wound to her right index finger. She was treated and released.

Around 7:30 p.m Tuesday, animal control officers were notified by Reno Police that an 18-inch alligator was discovered in the 1100 block of Old Reno Road.

The alligator was discovered in a residential garage. Reno police officers said juveniles had apparently discovered the young alligator and placed it inside a plastic bucket. Reno officers called for assistance from Parker County Sheriff’s Animal Control Officers, who took custody of the alligator and contacted the Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden. The warden agreed to turn the alligator over to the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge where it will be used for children’s educational programs.

A third unrelated animal call was reported Tuesday evening around 8 p.m. Two lab-mix dogs had been shot in the 100 block of Granada Court.

A man told sheriff’s deputies that he had been house-sitting for friends and when he went to feed the dogs, he found a dead dog in the driveway. Another dog that appeared to have been injured by gunshot wounds was inside the home, he told officers. Deputies contacted animal control officers, who took the dogs to a local veterinarian. The veterinarian concluded both dogs had been shot, and through a necropsy that the deceased dog was killed due to gunshot wounds, according to the sheriff’s office. The surviving dog is under veterinarian care and expected to live.

Officers discovered a blood trail with chicken feathers, leading them to believe the dogs had wandered off the property, were shot, then returned to the home.