SAN ANTONIO – A new program in the Dellview neighborhood is working to keep dogs from roaming, which could help prevent bites and attacks. If successful, this effort could expand to other parts of the city.
The I-Team spent several days in Dellview over the past year talking to residents who say loose dogs are a big problem.
To help with the ongoing issue, Animal Care Services (ACS) and District 1 staff launched a program to provide pet owners with free resources— dog houses, pet food, solutions to fix broken fences, and more.
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ACS leadership, officers, cadets, and volunteers from the community teamed up with D1 staff to build the dog houses, hand out food, distribute information about spay and neuter services, and answer community questions before hitting the streets to speak directly with residents.
The city also rolled out similar resources in Loma Park in recent months.
We got our first look at the new “tamp-down fencing” being offered to residents in the neighborhood.
It looks like a supersized comb, meant to close holds in gates and fences that dogs could slip through.
Councilmember Sukh Kaur says she has high hopes for the devices.
“You can just take a hammer, tamp it down, and it’ll block that gap,” Kaur explained.
This small fix could make a big difference in keeping dogs from escaping their yards.
“This is a big challenge in this neighborhood,” Kaur said.
Bringing Help Directly to the Community
ACS Director Jon Gary stressed the importance of focusing on neighborhoods where data shows loose dogs are most prevalent.
“I really believe that we need to be involved and engaged in the neighborhoods that need us the most,” Gary said. “And Dellview is a neighborhood that does need a lot of resources, we get a lot of calls for service here.”
Residents say it makes a huge difference when the city brings resources right to their front doors.
We met one woman with a two-month-old pup who stopped by the event.
She left with a bag of dog food and information about spay/neuter services and microchipping.
“A lot of elderlies can’t go anywhere so it’s good to have somewhere around here,” she told us. “And if we find out a lot of people help each other.”
She told us she often helps out her neighbors with their dogs and having these resources will assist with that.
Staff members packed up trucks and went door to door throughout Dellview, even running into a few loose dogs.
“As we were driving right now, there was a loose dog that ran in front of our car and the car next to us,” Kaur said as she arrived to the event.
We joined crews as they spoke with neighbors. Some detailed ongoing issues with the dogs we saw out and about Wednesday.
Kaur and the ACS team left information on doors and told residents how to get in contact with them if the issues persisted.
Creating Change
The ACS Director stressed the importance of reporting issues like loose and aggressive dogs in the community.
“I’ve heard things like ‘we don’t call because we know you’re not coming,’” Gary said. “Well, call us. We’re going to do our best to respond and be there for our community and try to provide the things that people need.”
Gary says ACS is working toward solutions.
“We’re moving in the right direction, I think the community needs to know that, that the city heard them,” he said.
With a new cadet class graduating and another on the way, Gary says ACS is ramping up its efforts to better handle this and other animal-related issues.
He also highlighted that ACS is now able to respond to 82% of critical calls, up from about 44% in late 2023.
The city will continue to evaluate which neighborhoods are most in need of these free resources.
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