Texas Mayor Grace Saenz-Lopez and her twin sister have been indicted in bizarre alleged crimes. At the center of the legal storm is a Shih Tzu named Puddles — a canine vixen who places humans under an apparent Voldemort-like trance.
Saenz-Lopez has been indicted on two felony counts of tampering with physical evidence in a case related to her neighbors pet. She faces the charges with her twin sister, Graciela Garcia.
It reportedly began when Saenz-Lopez took in Puddles as a favor for her neighbors while they were on vacation over the summer. One day later, while on vacation, the neighbors, Rudy Gutierrez and Shelly Cavazos, received a call from the mayor that Puddles was dead.
Then, three months later, the neighbors received a call from a relative who spotted Puddles at a groomer. Now called Panchito, the dog was clearly the same. They filed a police report that led a television crew to track the dog down to the home of the twin, who insisted that a “mysterious lady” had found the dog and dropped it off.
Garcia will face a charge of concealing evidence. Both could also face tort lawsuit for trespass to chattel and even intentional infliction of emotion distress over their treatment of the neighbors.
In the meantime, it is the lawyer who has ended up with the prize. Attorney Homero Canales, who represents the mayor and her twin sister, is keeping Puddles in his office.In the meantime, Canales insists that his clients acted to save Puddles from abuse. He has insisted that “She loves the little dog . . . She told me that if she were a single woman, she would not care if she went to jail for the rest of her life before she would give the dog back.” She may not have a choice. The first hearing is schedule for Feb. 4th.
In the meantime, Puddles — that canine siren of human destruction — is no doubt wearing down Canales who, if the trend continues, will flee the country to live with Puddles as a mesmerized fugitive.
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