An arrest and raid have followed allegations of severe animal cruelty out of an East Texas dog ranch, including the shooting death of a German Shepherd captured on video.
According to the Hopkins County sheriff’s office, deputies were dispatched on Dec. 21 to property in Cumby — south of Sulphur Springs — to investigate an “incident involving a case of cruelty to an animal.”
Kristine Hicks, owner of the breeding service “Giant German Shepherds,” was taken into custody the same day, the sheriff’s office said.
State and federal agencies have since been brought in for assistance. KTVT-TV (Channel 11) reported agents with the FBI and Department of Justice executed a search warrant Friday on Hicks’ 80‑acre ranch.
Crime in The News
Earlier this month on Facebook, Megan Sprinkle, who identified herself as a former employee of Hicks, wrote she witnessed and documented “extreme neglect, unethical practices and criminal acts involving dogs” during her employment.
Sprinkle said she gave law enforcement video of Hicks killing one of the German Shepherds. The video, which has now also been shared on social media, shows the dog tied to a tree before it was shot three times.
Hicks’ attorneys have said she shot the dog to end its suffering from a grapefruit‑sized tumor, KTVT-TV reported, while Sprinkle told the station it was because the dog could no longer breed.
Other allegations from Sprinkle included the deaths of 27 dogs since last summer, re-selling dogs claimed to be bred on-site, and several other housing and labor concerns.
“I did not make this decision lightly,” Sprinkle wrote. “I loved these dogs. Speaking out has come at personal cost, but staying silent would have meant allowing this to continue.”
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