SAN ANTONIO —2024 was another year of alarming dog attacks in San Antonio—some fatal, others leaving lasting scars. But through those tragedies, city leaders and community members have pushed for change and laid the groundwork for continued progress in 2025.
A year of cases and consequences
In 2023, two people were killed in dog attacks in the San Antonio area.
Ramon Najera was mauled as he tried to protect his wife from dogs that escaped from their fence. Paul Striegl died after being attacked by a neighbor’s dog.
The couple whose dogs attacked the Najeras received their punishments after several hearings earlier this year.
Christian Moreno and Abilene Schnieder pled guilty to their charges in August.
Then in September, Judge Velia Meza sentenced Moreno to 18 years and Schnieder to 15 years in prison. If paroled, neither of them can own dogs.
“This was preventable,” Meza said at the sentencing. “Clearly, our city has a lot of work to do to provide services to deal with responsible pet ownership.”
Najera’s son, Raymond, told us this was a turning point for the city and the punishment sent a strong message to people who weren’t responsible with their animals.
But just a few weeks later, we saw another tragedy.
One-year-old Jiriyiah Johnson died after his babysitter’s dogs mauled him. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Heather Rodriguez allegedly left the child alone with her teen daughter. The dogs broke in through an already-damaged door and severely injured the toddler. He was rushed to the hospital but did not survive.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Jiriyiah’s mother, Erika Castro, told reporters after her son’s funeral.
“I want my son to be remembered by his smile, his laugh, his optimism, his curiosity…” his father Julian Johnson said.
Rodriguez was recently indicted for her role in Jiriyiah’s death.
We covered several other dog attacks and bites in 2024.
A group of eight dogs attacked a woman as she walked down the street and then bit an SAPD patrol car as officers responded.
Six dogs in that pack were deemed dangerous and euthanized. The owners, who had previous run-ins with Animal Care Services, were given 32 citations for the incident.
The woman was treated and recovered from her injuries.
“This is an example of really irresponsible pet ownership where the owner is not doing right and creating an unsafe situation in the neighborhood,” said interim ACS Director Michael Shannon after the incident.
Elizabeth Daniel and her dog were walking along the Leon Creek Greenway when a homeless man’s dog started attacking them both. Daniel says she had called ACS about loose dogs on the trail several times.
An off-duty officer’s assigned K-9 was in the backyard when a neighbor’s three dogs broke through the fence and started attacking it. Police say the off-duty officer tried to separate the dogs but couldn’t. The off-duty officer shot multiple times to try to stop the attack, killing the police dog and injuring two of the neighbors’ dogs.
Most recently, two young children were hospitalized after a dog attack on the West Side. Their babysitter was also dog-sitting. As she got the dog out of the bathtub, it ran into the other room and attacked the young girls. The babysitter and the dog’s owner were hit with citations.
A Year of Action
City Hall became the epicenter of initiatives aimed at tackling the issue of loose and dangerous dogs.
District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito’s proposal passed the City Council, with measures that include higher fines for repeat offenders whose pets continue to escape, mandatory sterilization of loose pets picked up by ACS, and protections for people wanting to report dangerous or aggressive dogs.
“Today was a great day for a safer San Antonio,” Gavito said after the measures passed.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said, “Dangerous dogs pose a threat to people in our community every single day.”
Chief McManus says all these tragedies are preventable.
ACS has also stepped up their enforcement action this year, pledging to crack down on ignored sterilization orders.
They also launched a program to proactively check in on owners whose dogs have more than one bite or citation in previous years.
Looking Ahead to 2025
As the New Year approaches, city leaders want to maintain momentum.
They’ll have help from a new Animal Care Services director too.
Jonathan Gary takes the reigns at the agency this month after serving in Oklahoma City’s Animal Welfare Division for 25 years.
“I’m excited about him coming here,” said Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda, who leads the Public Safety Committee. “The promise of innovation, efficiency…”
However, the focus will also shift to Austin. In January, lawmakers will reconvene with the hope of revisiting dangerous dog legislation.
A 2023 bill that successfully passed both houses was ultimately vetoed by the governor, leaving advocates and legislators determined to address the barriers to its enactment.
“How crucial is the legislature going to be in the future of this policy as we go into 2025?” Jordan Elder asked Havrda.
“I think it’s going to be very crucial,” Havrda said. “There’s only so much the municipal government can do when the state has set up certain regulations.”
Several dangerous dog bills have already been filed in preparation for the upcoming session.
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