ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Over a month after a dog attack in Albuquerque left a woman with life-threatening injuries, the city has seized those dogs and arrested their owner as police now investigate a death at the home. “They should not have been in that yard; they should not have been in that lady’s custody,” said Celestina […]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Over a month after a dog attack in Albuquerque left a woman with life-threatening injuries, the city has seized those dogs and arrested their owner as police now investigate a death at the home.
“They should not have been in that yard; they should not have been in that lady’s custody,” said Celestina Richards in response to the arrest of Christina Thompson on Thursday. She is now facing hundreds of animal abuse charges.
This comes a month after Richards’ daughter was nearly killed in a dog attack at Thompson’s home near Central and Atrisco after crossing into the backyard of the home.
“She is doing better, but mentally, I don’t know if she’ll ever be the same because that’s a lot for anybody to go through,” said Richards.
Last month, the city confirmed that there have been at least five complaints about the property. News 13 learned the city tried to remove the dogs in September but were unable to.
“Prior to this, we can only gain access to a property if the owner allows us to do so. We were unable to get that cooperation prior to [Thursday],” said Deputy Director of the City of Albuquerque Animal Welfare Department Jack Hagerman.
Late Thursday morning, the Albuquerque Police Department found a person’s body at the home, launching a suspicious death investigation. It was only then that Animal Welfare seized the 19 mixed breed dogs, which are now being evaluated. Animal Welfare said they were called in to take the animals away, so APD could complete the investigation.
In the past, Thompson was charged with failure to care for her dogs. Those charges were dropped over mental competency concerns. Now, Thompson faces almost 230 counts tied to poor animal care.
“She should not have had those pets in the first place,” said Richards.
The Albuquerque Police Department still hasn’t identified the person who was found dead at Thompson’s home, and they also haven’t said anything about how that person died.
Thompson is being held in MDC Friday night as she faces charges tied to the dog attack in August and the more than 200 counts tied to the dogs’ care and living conditions.