The female mixed breed puppy, named Sandy, was found lying on her side – emaciated with sharp, overgrown nails – in a medium-sized crate, SPCA of Texas said.
HUNT COUNTY, Texas — A North Texas man has been arrested and charged with animal cruelty after allegedly torturing his puppy over a span of several months, which led to her death, according to the SPCA of Texas.
Jacob Paul Nichols, of Hunt County, was arrested June 17 and charged with Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals. He was was booked into Johnson County Jail and held on a $200,000 bond, jail records showed.
SPCA said its Animal Cruelty Investigations (ACI) Unit Chief Investigator was contacted by the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office on June 6 regarding a deceased puppy that was discovered inside a dumpster at an apartment complex in Greenville.
The female mixed breed puppy, named Sandy, was found lying on her side – emaciated with sharp, overgrown nails – in a medium-sized crate, SPCA of Texas said.
Sandy was taken to the SPCA of Texas’ Russell E. Dealey Animal Rescue Center for a forensic necropsy. SPCA of Texas said the exam showed Sandy was 5.5 months old and weighed only 7.6 pounds when she died due to extreme, long-term starvation and dehydration.
Sandy was also microchipped, SPCA said, and information from the microchip indicated she was adopted by a Dallas resident from a North Texas animal shelter in January 2025, then rehomed to Nichols on Feb. 13. Using a rehoming website that allows potential adopters to be screened prior to rehoming, Nichols signed a contract stating that he agreed to “care for the pet in a humane and responsible manner and to provide him/her with clean and adequate shelter, food, water and veterinary care,” SPCA of Texas said.
The SPCA of Texas ACI Unit found through interviews with Nichols and other witnesses that Sandy was severely neglected over a span of months and allegedly left to die in the crate without access to food or water.
An arrest warrant for Nichols was obtained on June 16.
“No animal deserves to suffer in silence the way this puppy did. The evidence indicates that she was trapped, neglected and ultimately starved to death over a span of months,” said SPCA of Texas’ ACI Unit Chief Investigator Courtney Burns, CAWA. “The level of cruelty in this case is staggering, and the SPCA of Texas and Hunt County Sheriff’s Office are committed to ensuring justice is served.”
To support the SPCA of Texas’ efforts to rescue, heal and find homes for animals from cases of cruelty and neglect, visit www.spca.org/GIVE. To learn more and to report suspected animal cruelty or abuse in Hunt County, visit https://spca.org/abuse.