Neighbors concerned after man arrested on animal cruelty charges

Mary Williams has lived on the 12000 block of O’brady Place in the Northeast since 1977.

Williams said she was not aware that just a couple of homes down there were dogs that were suffering.

“It’s a shame because that should never happen to an animal. We have a responsibility to take care of them because they can’t talk, they can’t tell us nothing,” Williams said.

The police department’s Animal Cruelty Unit charged 51-year-old Arturo Calderon after police discovered the chained body of a dead dog in the front yard.

He’s facing three counts of Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals.

Detectives and Animal Services officers found the dead dog at a residence on the 12100 block of Obrady in Northeast El Paso.

“If you can’t remember to water your animal, if you can’t remember, or you don’t have the money to feed them, let them go to an owner that does,” Williams said.

Other neighbors ABC-7 spoke with off camera said they always thought Calderon took care of his dogs. they were shocked at the arrest.

Police said he was taken into custody Monday when he appeared in court for an unrelated matter.

Calderon was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility under bonds totaling $2,400.