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Fort Worth Vet Suspended Over Alleged Animal Abuse Seeks Settlement

Erich Schlegel
/
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Lou Tierce, the Fort Worth veterinarian accused of keeping pets alive and abusing them, wants to settle with the state veterinary board.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Gov. Rick Perry turns himself in – then goes out for ice cream; recent rains aren’t helping North Texas lakes; a Denton college is housing students at the Holiday Inn; and more.

The Fort Worth veterinarian accused of keeping pets alive and abusing them wants to settle with the state veterinary board. Lou Tierce’s license was suspended in May and his Camp Bowie Animal Clinic was shut down. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports information about the settlement won’t be available until an Oct. 21 meeting by the Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. “[That’s] when a vote will be taken on whether to accept it, according to court documents filed late last week with the state Office of Administrative Hearings,” the Star-Telegram reports. The vet board’s executive director and Tierce’s attorney declined to comment to the newspaper. Earlier this year, a customer accused Tierce of stealing animals and conducting blood transfusions on her dog, which was supposed to have been euthanized. But supporters of Tierce have rallied around him, saying he is kind to animals.

  • Gov. Rick Perry turned himself in to the Travis County Jail Tuesday afternoon. He was booked on two felony counts of abuse of power. Hundreds of people gathered, many chanting “Perry! Perry! Perry!” As we reported last night: “It was one of the stranger booking scenes in jailhouse history. Governor Rick Perry turned himself in for booking. … Supporters cheered as he spoke briefly at what sounded more like a political rally.” Then he entered the jail for a mugshot that quickly spread online. After a defiant Perry left the courthouse, he went out for ice cream. Perry is expected to be arraigned on Friday – but he’s planning on being in New Hampshire that day as he considers a 2016 presidential run. Meanwhile, Perry's new political action committee released a video responding to his indictmenton felony charges of abuse of power. RickPAC's video features footage of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg's unruly behavior following her 2013 drunken driving arrest. [KERA News/Associated Press]

  • Honduras’ foreign minister visited the Texas-Mexico border Tuesday. Minister Mireya Aguero de Corrales said in McAllen that her country is working to keep citizens from escaping to the United States. But she hopes the U.S. will provide a comprehensive aid package that goes beyond security assistance. From October to July, about 63,000 unaccompanied children were arrested after entering the U.S. illegally, double the number from the same period a year earlier. Another 63,000 families - mothers or fathers with young children - were arrested during that period. Those arrests have slowed, however. Arrests of children traveling alone and children and parents traveling together dropped by about half in July from the previous month. [Associated Press]

  • We got a lot of rain over the weekend, but it didn’t necessarily help area lakes. Parts of North Texas got 3 inches of rain, but The Dallas Morning News reports that Lake Lavon is more than 11 feet below conservation level. Lakes Jim Chapman and Tawakoni are 9 feet low, while Lake Texoma is 5 feet below conservation level. “Overall, the district’s lakes are in considerably worse shape than a year ago,” the News says. “Texoma, which can provide up to 28 percent of the [North Texas Municipal Water District’s] supply, stood at 100 percent of capacity a year ago, and about 86 percent today.”

  • Texas Women’s University has too many students for its dorms – so some are heading to a nearby hotel. The Dallas Observer reports: “This year marks the third year in a row that [TWU] in Denton will contract with a local Holiday Inn to provide housing for students. More than 100 students will be assigned to the off campus hotel that has been haphazardly labeled as campus housing. … The university charges students the same amount for Holiday Inn housing as for campus dorm housing -- no word on whether that price includes maid service and continental breakfasts. The university offers shuttle services to and from campus, and TWU police monitor the property.”

(Photo Credit: Erich Schlegel/Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.