Ashley Rice’s dog was attacked and killed by a loose dog.
Two months ago the city learned how serious a problem loose dogs can be when a 52-year-old woman, Antoinette Brown, was attacked, mauled and ultimately killed by a pack of loose dogs owned-by-a-South Dallas resident.
A few weeks later a 13-year old was mauled while playing in his apartment complex.
Chances are you’ve seen a neighborhood group on Nextdoor.com our a homeowners Facebook page post about the problem that continues to persist.
This weekend a woman was walking her dog down Orient between Columbia and Reiger when her 88 pound dog was attacked and killed by a dog that had been left unattended on the sidewalk.
Ashley Rice, the owner of the dog who was killed, tells the horrible account of the event on Neighborhood.com.
“I didn’t see it until it was right on us.. That pit bull attacked my dog Clyde, I tried to get Clyde away from it, but it persisted..Clyde fell over and slowly died in the street.”
The loose dog’s owner came and retrieved the dog, and said he didn’t know the dog was outside, according to Rice.
District 9 City Council Member Mark Clayton says in a Facebook post that he has received a lot of “inquiries regarding the loose dog issues and what the best approach to handle it is.”
He goes on to praise councilmembers Tiffinni Young and Carolyn King Arnold for their work on the issue.
Clayton linked to a loose dog and animal welfare survey set up by the city. The survey asks questions like, “Approximately how often do you see packs (groups) of 3 or more loose dogs?” and “What do you believe is the main cause for loose dogs in your neighborhood?”
In late June WFAA reported that Dallas Animal Services and the city manager’s office have proposed catching and immediately killing strays in areas with persistent loose dog problems.
According to the story, “It was one of the ideas presented to Dallas City Council’s Quality of Life and Environment Committee last week.
“But city staff proposed eliminating hold times on “community cats, underage animals, and/or strays impounded from designated areas with high incidence of injuries by animals.”
Animal shelter commission member Jean-Paul Bonnelly wrote an impassioned plea on Facebook after Brown was killed, pleading with city leaders to take a different approach.
“Most dog bites that happen by loose dogs are in fact owned dogs. Stray dogs, for the most part, don’t want to have anything to do with you … That means that sweeping up and killing as many dogs as possible does not solve or even address the problem. Do that and in 6 months, 1 year, the same damn problem will exist and the same damn conversation will be happening and I cannot understand why city council cannot get this through their heads,” Bonnelly notes.
A better answer, Bonnelly writes, is to hold responsible the “boneheads” who let their dogs roam the streets. That, and supporting the city’s Dallas Animal Services department.
“It is time to put pressure on our city leaders to get DAS the funding and resources they need to start making a bigger difference …”
