HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Deputies have issued an arrest warrant for a woman who abandoned her pet cats in her Bear Creek home in February.
The Harris County Constable Precinct 5 Office said Valerie Joanna Hooper, 59, is being charged with four counts of failure to provide food, water, care or shelter of an animal.
These charges are misdemeanors and carry a penalty of up to one year in jail and a $4000 fine for each charge.
Deputies were called to her home in the 15600 block of Fern Basin in March, and discovered seven malnourished cats inside along with two dead cats and the skeletal remains of another.
Hooper, who lived at another location less than five miles away, had not stopped by to feed her cats for at least four weeks.
The new Harris County Animal Cruelty Taskforce, and its many partner agencies including Precinct 5, removed the cats from the home.
Deputies encourage anyone who suspects animal cruelty to call the new Harris County Animal Cruelty Taskforce at 832-927-7297.
