Rosa Martinez says her son was the first to realize that one of her dog's legs had rotten and fallen off. It was then that Rosa took the dog and two others for help, and that's what ultimately led to her arrest.
We first introduced you last week to Rainy, a Maltese and poodle mix, limping on just two legs. According to court documents, rainy was found by investigators with three inches of her leg bone exposed and dried out.
The dog's owner, Rosa Martinez, 57, is charged with two counts of animal cruelty.
Martinez, who would only talk to us on the phone, said, "It appears to be an accident that I was not aware of. I tried to make it right."
Assistant District Attorney Goran Krnaich explained, "When you have an animal in your custody, you've got a legal duty to basically provide food, shelter and water to that animal."
Police say two other dogs were found in Martinez's backyard and garage. Both were malnourished -- one had a chronic staph infection and the other had sores on his body.
Martinez told us she had a hard time taking care of the dogs because of her busy schedule. She said after she noticed Rainy's injury she gave up all three dogs to the Houston Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care.
"It really upsets me," Martinez said. "I know you have to have advocates to protect them. In my case, it's not fair. I didn't do anything wrong."
Martinez is the principal at the Tenney private school in Houston. Her employment status could not confirmed as of 5pm Tuesday.
Martinez is out on bond. She could face up to a year of jail for each animal cruelty charge, and the assistant DA we talked to said a third charge could be filed against her in the future.
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