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The Shih Tzh.
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A small-town mayor accused of secretly keeping her neighbors' dog after telling them the pet died has resigned, and a judge is set to decide custody of the Shih Tzu.
Grace Saenz-Lopez apologized Friday to Alice residents and said she believed her actions were in the dog's best interest.
"I am sorry for the division that the events of these last few weeks have caused," Saenz-Lopez wrote in her resignation letter. "It was never my intention to bring any negative exposure to our city."
A custody hearing is expected to decide who gets Puddles, who Saenz-Lopez renamed "Panchito" after taking the dog last summer.
A neighboring family accuses Saenz-Lopez of refusing to return the dog after leaving it in her care while they went on vacation. A day after her neighbors left, Saenz-Lopez called to tell them Puddles had died.
Three months later, a relative of the neighbors saw the pet at a dog groomer. When Saenz-Lopez refused to return the dog, the family filed a criminal complaint and a civil lawsuit against her.
Homero Canales, who represents Saenz-Lopez, has said his client believed the dog would die if returned to her neighbors.
Saenz-Lopez, the city's mayor since 2003, was indicted Jan. 18 on two felony counts of tampering with evidence and concealing evidence.
Those charges came after Saenz-Lopez filed a police report claiming the dog was missing. The dog was later spotted at the home of Saenz-Lopez's twin sister, in Ben Bolt, about 10 miles from Alice.
City commissioners voted unanimously last week for a resolution urging Saenz-Lopez to resign. Mayor Pro-Tem Juan Rodriguez will take over mayoral duties.
Alice is about 45 miles west of Corpus Christi.
(Agencies) |
美國得克薩斯州一個小城市的市長被指控謊稱鄰居家的小狗已死并將其據為己有。這位市長現已辭職，法官將決定誰能有這只西施犬的監護權。
艾麗斯市市長格雷絲·薩恩斯-洛佩斯上周五向市民道歉，并說她這樣做是因為她認為這對那條狗最好。
薩恩斯-洛佩斯在她的辭職信中寫道，“我對過去幾個星期這件事造成的影響深表歉意，給我們的城市帶來負面影響絕不是我的本意。”
預計將舉行一個聽證會來決定誰會得到這條狗。薩恩斯-洛佩斯于去年夏天收養了這條狗，并把它的名字改成了“Panchito”。
薩恩斯-洛佩斯的鄰居家指控她說，他們度假的時候請她代為照顧這條狗，后來她卻拒絕把這條狗還給他們。在鄰居離開一天后，薩恩斯-洛佩斯就打電話告訴他們，這條狗死了。
3個月后，鄰居的親戚在一個狗美容店里看到這條狗，鄰居才知道自己的愛犬并沒有死。然而，薩恩斯-洛佩斯卻拒絕把狗還給他們，于是這家人對她提起訴訟。
薩恩斯-洛佩斯的代理律師說他的委托人相信如果將狗還給鄰居，小狗就會喪命。
薩恩斯-洛佩斯2003年就任該市市長。她于1月18日被指控犯有兩項重罪：篡改證據和隱瞞證據。
這些指控緣于薩恩斯-洛佩斯報警說小狗走失，而小狗隨后在薩恩斯-洛佩斯雙胞胎妹妹家中被發現。她妹妹住在距艾麗斯市約10英里的本·博爾特市。
艾麗斯市市政官員上周舉行投票，一致通過決議，要求薩恩斯-洛佩斯辭職。胡安·羅伯里格茲將將作為代理市長代替履行市長職責。
艾麗斯市位于德克薩斯州柯柏斯克里斯提以西45英里的地方。
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（英語點津Celene編輯）
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