In February 2021, as a historic freeze sent temperatures plummeting in Texas, overwhelming the state’s power grid, breaking pipes and leaving roads slick with ice, a strange call came into the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office near San Antonio. Someone said they heard an animal crying outside their neighbor’s home. Deputies discovered a 6-month-old, 75-pound tiger in a cage, wearing a leash and a harness. She had rubbed her forehead raw on the bars and didn’t have enough straw to stay warm. Deputies