Bexar County, Texas Pit Bull Problems Continue to Surface in the News
Animal Services To Full for StraysUPDATE 11/24/08: It is a new day and a new event has unfolded. A local newspaper reports that San Antonio Animal Care Services is too full to take in strays. Earlier in the month, the director of animal services,
Jeffrey Hale, resigned after being arrested for a DWI. Hale was the leading force behind the effort to make San Antonio a "no kill" city by 2012. Given that the city shelter is overflowing with animals -- paralyzing basic department duties, such as picking up strays -- it seems the "no kill" directive is unsuccessful.
11/24/08: Bexar County Pit Bull Problems Continue to SurfaceBexar County, TX - There are several reasons why Bexar County is on the DogsBite.org Watch List. Primarily we are concerned that county officials are not enforcing
Lillian's Law. Bexar County (the third largest county in Texas,
population 1.6 million) has only retained
2 incitements under Lillian's Law and has yet to attain one for
Denise Rocha who was attacked back in August. Rocha's attack appears to qualify for Lillian's Law, as does the more recent attack on the
public works employees.
Two more events have unfolded in two days time.
Fight Over Pit Bull Leads to Shooting Spree(11/23/08) About 20 rounds were fired between two groups of people in an entrance to an apartment building in the 7600 block of Windsor Oaks. Two men, ages 18 and 19, each were shot in the foot and taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Bexar County Sgt. David Kilcrease said, "Both parties were returning fire at each other." The shooters were arguing over ownership of a pit bull that roams the neighborhood. The animal could not be located, and investigators had not found the shooters who fled.
Policeman Kills Aggressive Pit Bull(11/22/08) A police officer shot and killed a pit bull shortly after the animal killed a cat and another dog. The incident started about 10:40 a.m. in the 5200 block of Bakersfield Street. Resident David Avila said he witnessed the white pit bull attack the dog and cat a few houses down from his home. "We have reported that dog to authorities two or three times over the past month," he said. "I’m glad the police officer did what he did. What if it wasn’t a cat or dog that pit bull killed? It could have been one of my granddaughters."
What is Happening in Bexar County?
In 2007, Bexar suffered
two fatalities by pit bulls. Given how rare fatalities are due to dog attacks -- versus serious injury -- Bexar is a statistical anomaly. Might these fatalities, however, and lack of prosecution of Lillian's Law point to deeper problems such as dogfighting and the many resulting consequences of it, particularly an abundance of dangerous dogs in the area? Add to this that San Antonio Animal Care is committed to a "no kill" policy (which translates into a Pit Bull Proliferation policy) and the picture of grim adds up quick.
Related articles:11/07/08:
Director of Animal Services in San Antonio Arrested on DWI11/03/08:
Bexar County Still Has Not Brought Charges Against Dog Owners11/02/08:
Bexar County Public Works Employees Attacked by "Pig Hunting" Pit Bulls09/19/08:
San Antonio Woman Severely Mauled by Two Pit Bulls08/20/08:
Dog Attacks, Trends and Dog Law Coverage of Texas01/09/08:
Lillian's Law - Texas State Dangerous Dog Law
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