Mayor scales ladder to 'rescue' sunbathing dog

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A South Texas mayor was so concerned about reports of a Great Dane being stuck on a second-story balcony that he alerted emergency workers, went to the location himself, scaled a fire department ladder and entered the apartment to help the dog.

The problem was, the dog wasn't in distress. The bigger problem came when the surprised dog owner found Mayor Pat Ahumada standing in his kitchen on Tuesday.

"He broke into my house," the owner, who asked not to be identified, told the Brownsville Herald.

"My dog is very well taken care of. He (the mayor) shouldn't have done that."

Ahumada, a dog lover whose zeal for the animals has caused problems before, said a local TV station called him to say a dog was stuck.

"He looked to be stuck on the balcony," Ahumada said.

"I didn't know the condition of the dog or if the building was abandoned. ... The animal's paws were hanging out from the railing and he was struggling to get up."

The dog's owner explained that the 14-year-old dog has little mobility, and one of its greatest pleasures is spending the day on the balcony where it can watch the passing traffic.

In 2007, the city informed Ahumada that his six dogs were double the city's legal limit for one home.

That same year, Ahumada picked up a dog thinking it was stray and gave it to a family. When the original owner asked for the dog back and the family refused, the issue ended up in court.

Two years earlier, before he was elected mayor, Ahumada was charged with theft after taking a dog from the Brownsville Animal Shelter.

He claimed the dog was not being properly cared for, and the charge was dismissed.

- AP