A Texas family captured the nation's attention when news reports surfaced that they had found a Chupacabra. Jackie Stock and her husband, Arlen Parma, said they saw the strange-looking creature in their backyard and captured it. Stock and Parma kept the hairless animal in a cage in their backyard.
Sadly, the family told TMZ that they were advised to put down the creature because many people believed it was suffering. Stock told the site that after a video of the "Chupacabra" went viral, she was contacted by PETA, saying that they were upset because the animal was being kept in a cage and was not receiving the proper treatment.
The Ratcliff, Texas, native also said that many people told her it most likely wasn't a Chupacabra because it didn't attack and kill her neighbor's goats. The Chupacabra is said to suck the blood from animals. Stock said she took the creature, which she had nicknamed "Chupie," to a shelter, where he was euthanized.
"It went to sleep very peacefully," Stock said, adding "I had gotten attached. He will be missed."
According to the Daily News, a spokeswoman for PETA's Cruelty Investigations Department denied contacting Stock but did say that they believed the creature had been suffering.
"Based on the footage, we believe this is an extremely mange stricken raccoon who has suffered a long time," Stephanie Bell said.
Mange is a disease that causes animals to lose their hair. Bell said PETA wanted a Texas game warden to remove the animal from the home and treat it instead of putting it down. She told the Daily News that the animal was being kept in "cruel confinement which was surely stressful to the animal and making [it] more vulnerable."
"[The cage lacked an area for] the animal to hide and it was exposed to humans," Bell told the Daily News.
Stock and Parma found the creature roaming around their backyard on Sunday, Mar. 30. They kept the animal in a cage and fed it corn and cat food.
