The Mystery of the 14 Dead Dogs Dumped in North Houston

KTRK reported Wednesday that the bodies of the dogs, mostly adult shepherd mixes, were found that day near U.S. Highway 59 and Greens Road. According to the report, investigators (KTRK did not say for which agency) said the bodies were too decomposed for a forensic investigation.

But Randall Lockwood, a psychologist and animal cruelty expert with the ASPCA, told Hair Balls that the ASPCA's advanced forensic lab is often able to turn up evidence in even badly decomposed bodies. He said the ASPCA plans to contact the Houston SPCA to see if they need any outside help. (All SPCA's are autonomous; there is no business relationship between the ASPCA and HSPCA).

"One of the things that concerned me, and we see this all the time, is...the statement that the animals were too far decomposed to yield any worthwhile evidence," Lockwood said. "....And that's often not the case...we actually often successfully get evidence from animals that have been buried weeks or months. We might not be able to get soft tissue for doing pathology in determining cause of death, but we can tell a lot from skeletons and other stuff. So one of the things that I want to check into is, is whether or not the remains have been preserved, stored, chilled, frozen, whatever, because we might be able to help with that analysis."

We certainly hope the HSPCA will consider the ASPCA's offer.