Grapevine man tortured and starved dog, police say

GRAPEVINE, Texas - A Grapevine man is facing animal cruelty charges for allegedly abusing a dog and starving it to death.

Grapevine police arrested 36-year-old Vanadus Green on Feb. 28.

Vanadus Green (Grapevine PD)

The police department said officers got a tip in January about a dog that was barely alive behind a dumpster at the Super 8 Motel off State Highway 114. They took it to an emergency vet, but it did not survive.

Grapevine Animal Services got involved because it was obvious the dog was severely emaciated and had fresh wounds, including an open head wound.

The results of a necropsy showed the dog died of prolonged starvation. Its bone marrow indicated a fat percentage of just 9%. The normal range for a dog is about 65-98%, police said.

Investigators were able to identify Green as the suspect thanks to the original tipster and cooperative hotel staff members.

They found hotel security video that showed Green dragging a skinny and weak dog through the hallway and in a back parking lot.

Hotel security video showed Vanadus Green dragging a near lifeless dog through the hallway. (Grapevine PD)

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Green claimed he found the dog in poor shape three or four weeks earlier and had been trying to nurse it back to health.

But based on the video evidence and the necropsy results which showed many of the dog’s wounds were less than a week old, investigators concluded Green tortured the dog.

"It is believed that the dog suffered immensely until it took its final breath," the affidavit states.

Green is now in jail for cruelty to non-livestock animals, which is a third-degree felony.