Federal authorities have indicted a dog breeder who was secretly recorded on video shooting and killing a dog, which led to a raid on her East Texas ranch.
That owner appeared this morning at the federal courthouse in Plano.
This is the first case prosecuted by a new federal animal cruelty task force created by the U.S. Attorney General.
Kristine Hicks arrived at the federal courthouse in Plano on Monday morning.
She was arraigned on charges of operating an unlicensed dog-breeding facility and wire fraud.
Federal authorities allege in an indictment that the images portrayed of dogs raised and offered for sale at the Giant German Shepherd Ranch in Hopkins County were a disguise for a place where, instead, cruelty and neglect were rampant.
“In Texas, we take animal cruelty very seriously. Texans understand how important animals are to our lives,” says Jay Combs, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.
Combs oversaw a federal raid on the 80-acre property in January after a viral video circulated of Hicks tying a dog to a tree and then shooting it 3 times until it eventually died.
Combs says Hick’s business falsely promoted AKC-registered dogs offered for thousands of dollars through online sales.
Photos on social media show what appear to be healthy dogs but Combs says they were not.
“It shows you know a happy environment, dogs that, you know appear to be healthy and well cared for, cute and attractive. What we encountered on the ground after looking into that horrific dog shooting it was anything but,” says Combs.
During the January raid, authorities discovered 88 dogs living in cramped cages, full of their own waste, without access to food or water.
They were seized and Hicks was initially charged with animal cruelty.
But she’s been indicted for wire fraud related to false advertising because authorities say it comes with a stiffer sentence.
The indictment says one customer paid $10,000 in vet bills after buying sick German Shepherds.
Authorities say, in another case, a dog sold as a service animal to a paralyzed veteran ended up attacking him.
“What she provided him after he paid thousands of dollars was a mean ill tempered dog a dog that was not AKC registered as USDA confirmed with DNA test and that the dog was so ill tempered in fact has bit him on multiple occasions drawing blood and bit him on the face,” says Combs.
Attorney General Pam Bondi recently visited one of the rescue facilities where the dogs are now being cared for and will eventually be offered for adoption.
Hicks’ attorney declined to comment on the charges.
If convicted, the 51-year-old faces up to 20 years in prison.