A Texas woman, identified as Rachel Ann Sword, 22, was taken into custody last week. At her ranch, landscapers discovered a large number of de*ad animals, including 24 dogs and 12 horses. She was accused of mistreating livestock and dogs alike. Because of how terrible the case is, there are major felonies included in the charges.
Someone from the Collin County Sheriff’s Office said they started looking into Rachel Ann Sword because of a complaint from people who were fixing up her land. These labourers discovered several de*ad horses. The Sheriff’s Office checked into the complaint, and on August 1st, they got a legal order to take away all the animals on her property. Her place is on Graybill Road in Westminster, which is about 50 miles from Dallas.
The CCSO statement stated, “During the warrant’s execution, investigators seized two dogs, two horses, a cow, a lizard, and a snake, which were turned over to Animal Services personnel for their care and control.” “While at this scene, in and around several buildings on the property, the remains of 24 deceased dogs and 12 horses in advanced states of decomposition were found by Sheriff’s investigators.”
According to a report from Dallas Fox’s KDFW, detectives discovered during their investigation that Sword’s older grandparents owned the property where the de*ad animals were discovered. According to a document outlining their justification for searching the property, the grandparents found it difficult to move around and believed Sword was taking care of her own animals on the ranch.
However, the on-site investigators reported smelling a foul odour. As a result, they discovered a de*ad dog in a cage near the grandparents’ home. When they looked around the cage where the dog was discovered, they saw that there was no food or water.
Sword resided in an RV parked behind her grandparents’ house, while Sword’s parents occupied a house on the property.
The deputies reported that while they continued searching the property, they discovered 23 more de*ad dogs in various states of decay. Some of these dogs had no access to food or water and were kept in cages. Others were placed in pens that faced the sun constantly.
On the property, the deputies also discovered twelve de*ad horses.
The report stated that the horses’ states varied; some were reduced to nothing more than skeletons, while others retained some skin and fur. This demonstrated that their deaths were not recent.
Sword admitted to having owned the animals when questioned by investigators, but he had died roughly three weeks earlier. According to KDFW, she acknowledged that she ought to have taken care of the animals after his passing, but she was too depressed to do so. Records, however, indicated that since 2019, there have been at least 16 reports of animal abuse on the property.
Alston Mays, one of the landscapers who spoke with the police, discussed the incident with KTXA. “The place smelled really bad, like something had died,” he said. Numerous de*ad animals and cages littered the area. Additionally, skeletons were visible everywhere.”
After being detained, Sword was lodged in the Collin County Jail. She is currently being held there on a $85,000 bond.
The people of Collin County stated that they genuinely care about the welfare of animals residing in their community. They are treating this matter with extreme caution. Additionally, they stated that they strictly prohibit mistreating or abandoning animals.
