SAN ANTONIO — A woman was arrested and taken to jail earlier this year after making a detour to the grocery store while taking her dog for a walk. While the woman was able to bail out of jail, her dog has remained in the custody of the Castle Hills Public Works Department.
Brandy Lundeen has had her pit bull mix, Sharky, for nearly three years. But for the last two months, the dog has been held as evidence in a cruelty to non-livestock animals case against her. Lundeen said it started when she took Sharky out for a walk on Jan. 26, but because of the nice weather, they had traveled further than normal, prompting her to stop at an H-E-B on West Avenue.
"I decided to grab a couple of things for the house,” Lundeen recalled. "I tied the end of his leash to a tree to keep him from running around and into the store, of course, and to protect him from traffic as well. I was gone for 14 minutes.”
When she returned to the tree where she had tied her dog, she was greeted by two Castle Hills police officers. A police report alleges authorities were at the scene for approximately 20 minutes before Lundeen returned, though Castle Hills officers do not wear body cameras, so the timing is unclear.
A police report states officers asked for Lundeen’s ID, to which she said she responded she did not have her ID because she was out for a walk. She said she also told officers she had no obligation to identify herself. Authorities then detained her for cruelty to a non-livestock animal.
"I'm upset, crying, calling out to anybody to help, saying ‘This is illegal, this is wrong.’ 'What have I done?’” she recalled.
The report states the dog was in a pain compliance choker collar and tied to a tree with little slack. Acting Castle Hills police chief Steve Zuniga shared photos of the dog when it was found, telling KENS 5 the collar and little slack combined made it a cruelty case. The report stated that the dog was also without food or water and that it appeared it had been “abandoned,” in violation of the law.
Lundeen was arrested and booked at the Bexar County Jail before being released on a $3,000 bond. Her dog was seized as evidence.
“Everybody I've told the story to thinks it's just as laughable and ridiculous and it would be more laughable to me if my dog wasn't still being confined,” Lundeen said.
She said the criminal case is based on a big misunderstanding and the real cruelty is being away from her dog for this long.
"I imagine this is just awful for him,” Lundeen said through tears. “He's never been away from me for this long.”
Sharky remains in the custody of the Castle Hills Public Works Department where he’s caged most of the day with the exception of walks, though Zuniga said Wednesday they are working to find a foster for the dog. Lundeen has a court date next month and is hopeful she will get to ask for the return of her dog.