At a Glance
- Case Type
- Regulatory Action
- Jurisdiction
- San Antonio, Texas (Bexar County)
- Date
- 2024-05-10
- Status
- Pending
San Antonio's City Council faced new pressure in May 2024 to overhaul its loose dog policies following two fatal or grievous canine attacks in 2023. District 7 Councilmember Marina Alderete Gavito filed a Council Consideration Request, or CCR, proposing three interlocking changes: mandatory sterilization of any dog apprehended while roaming, higher fines for owners of unrestrained animals, and a pseudonym program shielding residents who report dangerous dogs from retaliation [1]. According to Axios San Antonio, the proposals were the city's latest policy response to those attacks and the sustained pressure they placed on San Antonio Animal Care Services [1].
The human toll underlying the legislation is direct. In February 2023, Ramon Najera, 81, was killed when American Staffordshire terriers broke free from a neighbor's yard on the city's West Side and attacked him and his wife Juanita as they arrived to visit relatives [2]. The dogs' owners, Christian Moreno and Abilene Schnieder, were later convicted and sentenced to 18 and 15 years in prison, respectively [3]. A second 2023 attack left Max De Los Santos, then 77, requiring more than a dozen surgeries and the loss of both legs, according to Axios San Antonio [1]. Beatrice De Los Santos, his wife, told Axios San Antonio the proposed changes were "reasonable" and could prevent future injuries [1].
Alderete Gavito's proposal targets a well-documented enforcement gap. San Antonio's Animal Care Services previously issued sterilization orders requiring owners to spay or neuter recovered dogs within 30 days, but compliance was poor [4]. Data cited by Texas Public Radio showed that in Fiscal Year 2023, only about a quarter of the roughly 1,900 sterilization mandates were followed up on, with just 5 percent of those animals ultimately sterilized [5]. The new CCR would authorize ACS to perform sterilizations directly, before releasing animals to their owners, with costs charged to the owner [1][4]. A 2019 ACS study estimated that at any given time, approximately 34,636 unrestrained dogs roamed the city, most of them owned, and that only about 30 percent of owned city animals were sterilized [1][2].
The pseudonym element of the proposal carries its own legal and legislative history. Texas Governor Greg Abbott vetoed a 2023 bill from San Antonio-area lawmakers that would have established anonymous reporting protections for dangerous dog complaints [1][4]. State Senator José Menéndez, who sponsored that measure, attended the council's June 2024 Governance Committee hearing to support Alderete Gavito's local effort [4]. Four fellow council members signed on to the package: Marc Whyte of District 10, Manny Pelaez of District 8, Melissa Cabello Havrda of District 6, and Jalen McKee-Rodriguez of District 2 [6]. San Antonio City Attorney Andy Segovia told the San Antonio Report that the city had cleared the legal question of whether ACS could sterilize owned animals, an authority previously left in doubt over property-rights concerns [7].
The package moved through committee and the full City Council ultimately voted in December 2024 to adopt the ordinance, granting ACS new sterilization authority and raising fines for subsequent loose-dog offenses [8]. Critics, including the American Kennel Club, raised constitutional concerns about the pseudonym provision, specifically the accused's right to confront accusers [9]. Animal advocates separately questioned whether the fine increases would prove meaningful, pointing to historical shortfalls in collection by the San Antonio Municipal Court [8].
References
[1] Axios San Antonio. (2024, May 10). San Antonio plan would sterilize loose dogs. https://www.axios.com/local/san-antonio/2024/05/10/city-council-loose-dogs-attacks-fines-spay-neuter
[2] NBC News. (2024, September 21). Texas couple sentenced to prison after pit bulls killed 81-year-old man. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-couple-sentenced-prison-pit-pulls-killed-81-year-old-man-rcna172069
[3] KENS5. (2025, October 2). Judge dismisses lawsuit filed against City of San Antonio by family of deadly 2023 dog attack. https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/san-antonio-najera-dog-attack-lawsuit-dismissed-judge-texas/273-4d7b49fc-cf17-4741-8b83-044b0e48ac7d
[4] Texas Public Radio. (2024, June 27). San Antonio City Council proposal to crack down on owners of dangerous dogs moves forward. https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2024-06-27/san-antonio-city-council-proposal-to-crack-down-on-owners-of-dangerous-dogs-moves-forward
[5] News4 San Antonio. (2024, October 26). 'It's alarming': Data shows San Antonio is struggling to enforce pet sterilization orders. https://news4sanantonio.com/news/investigations/its-alarming-data-shows-san-antonio-is-struggling-to-enforce-pet-sterilization-orders-animal-care-services-neutering-spay
[6] KENS5. (2024, May 7). Councilwoman proposes stricter policy for irresponsible dog owners. https://www.kens5.com/article/news/politics/san-antonio-dangerous-dogs-acs-policy-penalties-owners-city-council-texas/273-32c5cb5f-fd2a-433c-ab40-af9acbe0d8b0
[7] San Antonio Report. (2024, May 13). Spay/neuter policy review could align San Antonio with other cities. https://sanantonioreport.org/san-antonio-spay-neuter-policy-animal-care-services/
[8] Texas Public Radio. (2024, December 5). San Antonio City Council approves higher fines, sterilization authority for loose and dangerous dogs. https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2024-12-05/san-antonio-city-council-approves-higher-fines-sterilization-authority-for-loose-and-dangerous-dogs
[9] American Kennel Club. (2024, December 11). San Antonio City Council Amends Spay/Neuter, At-Large and Dangerous Dog Policy. https://www.akc.org/legislative-alerts/san-antonio-city-council-amends-spay-neuter-large-dangerous-dog-policy/