Manvel residents question how two officers responded to a call about an injured dog

MANVEL, Texas – They say officers abandoned the dog, saying it wouldn’t be picked up for at least two days.

FOX 26 spoke with Manvel Police Chief Keith Traylor.

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He calls the response his officers gave to the dog unfortunate and that new procedures have been put in place so something like this won’t happen again.

“He may have been thrown from the car or hit by a car,” said Cindy Cortinas with Lone Star Pawz Rescue.

No one knows exactly what happened to this puppy, now named Jackson. But it was clear that he was in desperate need of help.

“Knew he might have a broken leg and a head injury, so I called Manvel police,” Cindy said.

“Another cop came with a leash and what happened was the dog was lying there and the cop put the leash on incorrectly. It was over his ear so the dog could have easily slipped out,” said 14-year-old Jackson. Chernokh.

Two police officers apparently told Michelle Coates last Friday that the dog couldn’t be picked up until Monday.

“There was no one from animal control and they were done,” Michelle said. “They didn’t go there and give him nothing. Jackson was the only one who went deep there, as close as he did. That dog didn’t want anyone but Jackson.”

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Lone Star Pawz Rescue staff saw a Facebook post about the dog and took it to the vet.

“She just put a leash on him, picked him up and carried him out,” Cindy said. “He never tried to snap at us. Even though he was in a lot of pain and his leg was dangling.”

Jackson had surgery on his leg and is now recovering. He is in foster care and hopefully will soon find his forever home.

Cindy says the police response was unacceptable.

“I really think so. We now have two animal control officers. Not one, but two,” she said.

Chief Traylor says they are in the process of building an animal control unit from the ground up and started last November.

Since this incident, both of his animal control officers have been certified and are now on call.

Lone Star Pause named the dog Jackson.

“They asked my name, I said it was Jackson. So they named the dog after me,” he said.

The best part of this story: Jackson is on his way to a happy life.

“And my son has a dog named after him,” Michelle said.