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Former Dallas Cowboys player arrested for animal cruelty in Helotes

Dwayne Anthony Missouri, 44, was booked on cruelty to non-livestock animals

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BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A former Dallas Cowboys player was arrested after he allegedly abandoned a puppy in a storage unit for two days when temperatures were over 100 degrees.

Dwayne Anthony Missouri, 44, was booked on cruelty to non-livestock animals, a class A misdemeanor.

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On June 18, Helotes police responded to reports of a dog barking inside a storage unit of a Storage Mart.

Officers discovered a small puppy inside a warm unit with two empty food bowls and a desk with a bag of dog food. Officers also said 60% of the unit was covered in shoes, one of which was covered in fecal matter and urine.

Police noted that temperatures on the day of the discovery were over 100 degrees.

Helotes Animal Control took possession of the dog.

Investigators identified the renter as Missouri and reviewed surveillance footage of when his personal gate code was entered.

Records showed that Missouri had entered the unit on June 18, and footage captured him with the dog walking around his truck that day.

Missouri returned to the unit on June 25, a week later.

Missouri left a voicemail on the Storage Mart phone, claiming he had left the dog in someone else’s care and that they left it in the unit, contradicting surveillance footage.

Records show Missouri was arrested on October 1 with a bond set at $2,000.

Missouri played professional football in the National Football and Arena Football Leagues including with the Dallas Cowboys in the 2001-2002 season.


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