A man tied a dog to a bench outside 821 S. El Paso Street on the evening of July 30 and simply walked off, leaving the animal behind in South Downtown El Paso. El Paso police are now asking the public to help identify him, and Crime Stoppers is dangling a possible cash reward for any tip that leads to an arrest.
Crime Stoppers publicized the case Wednesday, timing its public appeal to National Dog Day, an annual observance founded in 2004 by animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige to draw attention to pet adoption and rescue needs, according to National Dog Day. It is not the first time the organization has leaned on a public appeal to crack an abandonment case: in August 2023, Crime Stoppers sought help identifying a man who left a dog outside the El Paso Police Academy before fleeing in a late-1990s Jeep Grand Cherokee, per KTSM 9 News.
What the Suspect Could Face Under Texas Law
Unreasonably abandoning an animal in one’s custody without arranging for someone else to take over its care is classified as a Class A misdemeanor under Texas Penal Code § 42.092, punishable by up to a year in county jail and a fine of as much as $4,000. The offense escalates to a state jail felony if the person has two prior animal cruelty convictions, per the statute.
A conviction would also trigger a longer-lasting consequence. Under Texas House Bill 598, which took effect in September 2023, anyone convicted of an animal cruelty offense — including non-livestock abandonment — is barred from owning, possessing, or living with a domesticated animal for five years afterward. Violating that ownership ban is itself a separate criminal offense under state law.
A Shelter System Already Stretched Thin
The abandonment adds one more animal to a local system already under strain. El Paso Animal Services had logged more than 24,000 animal intakes for the fiscal year by mid-August, leaving its municipal shelters over capacity with more than 600 dogs and 300 cats in care, according to KTSM 9 News. The pressure isn’t unique to El Paso — ASPCA and Shelter Animals Count data released in February found that roughly 5.8 million animals, including 2.8 million dogs, entered U.S. shelters in 2025, with shelters nationwide reporting longer stays and persistent space shortages…