Man arrested for animal cruelty charges
One dog was found dead and severely underweight, while another dog was found underweight and chained up. Police said both were living in a hot and unsanitary garage.
AUSTIN, Texas – A man was arrested for animal cruelty charges, police said.
One dog was found dead and severely underweight, while another dog was found underweight and chained up. Police said both were living in a hot and unsanitary garage.
Animal cruelty in Austin
The backstory:
Police said on August 31, officers responded to 13625 Coomer Path regarding two dogs living inside a hot and unsanitary garage without access to food or water.
When officers arrived, one dog was found dead and severely underweight, while the other dog was found underweight and chained in an area with feces and urine. A third dog was also found on the property.
“During their investigation, the officer went beyond simply addressing a loose dog and took the initiative to investigate concerns regarding animals being kept inside a garage,” said detective Christian Esquivel, with the Animal Cruelty Unit.
A necropsy of the dead god revealed he died from heat exposure, potentially combined with dehydration and poor body condition.
“Overall, the history and necropsy findings were most significant to suggest heat exposure, potentially compounded white dehydration, poor body condition, and chronic renal disease,” said Detective Esquivel.
The two living dogs were immediately provided with food and water and were taken to Austin Animal Services for evaluation. They are expected to make a full recovery and will be put up for adoption.
Dig deeper:
Two animal cruelty arrest warrants were issued for 64-year-old Nelson Egwu. One was a third-degree felony for the dead dog, and the other was related to the chained dog.
Egwu was taken into custody and booked into the Travis County Jail.
The Austin Police Department said officers are finding a growing number of people accused of committing animal cruelty. During September 2026, 11 arrest warrants were issued in connection to animal cruelty.
What they’re saying:
“Unfortunately, there are lots of people out in the world that just either don’t have the ability to take care of their pets, don’t care enough about their pets to take care of them, or just really don’t know what the right things to do are,” said Elizabeth Ferrer with Austin Animal Services.
Austin Animal Services says the animals can carry the psychological impacts of abuse or neglect.
“If someone is keeping an animal in an unfit condition, and especially if they’re being malnourished or missing some of the ingredients that they need to thrive, it starts to affect them cognitively. They will start to decline,” said Ferrer.
What you can do:
If you know someone abusing an animal, you can report it by calling Austin 9-1-1, online via www.ireportaustin.com, or through Austin 3-1-1. You can also reach the Animal Cruelty Unit via email at APDAnimalCruelty@austintexas.gov.
The Source: Information from an Austin Police Department press release on Oct. 13 and from an interview with Elizabeth Ferrer with Austin Animal Services