SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio woman is urging city officials to take action after she says two German Shepherds jumped a fence and attacked her dogs, leaving one seriously injured.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation, said she no longer feels safe in her own backyard.
“It’s just a dog to you, but it’s my baby. I don’t have kids, this was my baby,” she said.
She let her dogs out into the gated backyard during her lunch break from work in late November.
“When I heard the commotion I ran outside and that’s when I saw the German Shepherds,” she said.
Two large dogs were jumping over her fence, bounding toward Roxie, Bailey, and Cowboy—much smaller dogs.
She ran to try and help them, but it was too late.
“I was carrying Cowboy. He was all bloody,” she said. Then, she rushed to the other dogs. “I went to them, touched them to see if they were injured, and they were both gone.”
It all happened in just a few minutes.
But the resident tells us, this shouldn’t have happened at all.
She says loose dogs have been roaming the neighborhood for as long as she’s lived there.
The Dellview Area Neighborhood Association’s Facebook page is filled with reports of loose dogs, dogs killing animals, and people worried about their safety.
“I’ve seen the German Shepherds a couple of times, and they’re aggressive. They start barking. I do walk with a hiking stick, but it didn’t seem like it was gonna be enough,” she said.
We’ve spoken with other residents in the area who also have concerns.
Yolanda Garza reached out to us last year after a roaming dog jumped on her car. She lives a few blocks South of where the dog attack happened in November.
She says people on her street can’t walk or sit outside because the dogs run around in packs.
“What do we have to do? Wait for somebody to get bit? Or killed?” Garza asked. “Everybody’s on their watch. People that walk down the street, if you see them walking, they’ve got a stick or a bat.”
Cowboy is continuing to recover from his injuries.
His owner is now calling on Animal Care Services (ACS) to increase its presence and enforce stricter consequences for irresponsible pet owners.
The city recently implemented a new fine structure for people whose dogs continuously escape or harm others.
“I don’t feel that I should feel unsafe in my neighborhood, let alone in my own backyard,” she said. “I think the city needs to step up. The stricter fines are definitely going to help, but I don’t think it’s going to solve the problem.”
ACS confirmed that the case is still open and they have received the affidavit. If sufficient evidence is found, an investigation into the dogs’ behavior could be launched.
We’ve also asked if there have been sweeps in the area or if any dogs have been picked up.
We’ll update this story when we hear more.
If you want to donate to help Cowboy’s recovery, click here.
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