Stray dog problem in San Antonio — Am I the only one who notices... (home, neighborhood) - City-Data Forum

HtownLove · 07-09-2010, 06:48 PM

dogs loose on the streets of San Antonio?

People react like they never see them when I say they are all over the north central and west sides of SA.

everything from chihuahuas to rottweilers to poodles.
311 was a joke. you can call them a million times but the won't come out.

I called the cops once after being attacked by a pitbull but the dispatcher said I need to get mauled first before they can do anything.

The only luck I had was calling the mayors office. Yes, if a dangerous dog is roaming the streets and you don't want to get mauled a good option is calling the mayor. There is a nice lady there who shakes up the cops and the animal control and gets them to do their job

GlorifiedMalcontent · 07-09-2010, 07:05 PM

this has been brought up at length in the past. san antonio has one of the worst stray/loose dog problems i've ever seen. i know for a fact that a lot of them are not strays, but supposedly owned dogs at-large. i bet if look out my window i will see at least three dogs in my line of sight.

animal control doesn't do much simply because there is just no room for them (thus, why they will only pick up extremely dangerous dogs since they're only going to be put down anyway.) i have had no problems with my own safty regarding loose dogs, but my hubby personally saw a car hit a dog in our street and drive off. it crawled onto our lawn and died. acs did come out to pick up the corpse when we called about it. on another occasion an intact chihuahua got into our secured backyard somehow with our huge german shepherd.

i am NOT A FAN of the "kill them all" mentality because that does not address the source of the problem: people who do not take responsibility for their animals, be it keeping them confined to their property, making sure they're chipped/licensed, and altering them. not to mention those awful backyard breeders selling litters of puppies on the side of the road like produce.

HtownLove · 07-09-2010, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlorifiedMalcontent

this has been brought up at length in the past. san antonio has one of the worst stray/loose dog problems i've ever seen. i know for a fact that a lot of them are not strays, but supposedly owned dogs at-large. i bet if look out my window i will see at least three dogs in my line of sight.

animal control doesn't do much simply because there is just no room for them (thus, why they will only pick up extremely dangerous dogs since they're only going to be put down anyway.) i have had no problems with my own safty regarding loose dogs, but my hubby personally saw a car hit a dog in our street and drive off. it crawled onto our lawn and died. acs did come out to pick up the corpse when we called about it. on another occasion an intact chihuahua got into our secured backyard somehow with our huge german shepherd.

i am NOT A FAN of the "kill them all" mentality because that does not address the source of the problem: people who do not take responsibility for their animals, be it keeping them confined to their property, making sure they're chipped/licensed, and altering them. not to mention those awful backyard breeders selling litters of puppies on the side of the road like produce.

I thought I was imagining it because when I mentioned it in the beacon hill Alta vista Monte vista thread people claimed I was making it up.

I know that they are "owned" dogs. a lot people keep them on the porch unchained or in back yards that are not secure.

There was a proposal to have people pay a licensing fee to keep dogs, but that is not going to work because the government won't enforce the laws anyway.

I would require that anyone with an intact dog pay 500 a year or else face a 1000 fine everytime the dog is caught.

One of my friends who lives in monte vista said she was traumatized and didn't walk her dog for months because her hand got chewed by a pitbull and her dog was mauled

LindaGrace · 07-09-2010, 07:31 PM

Stray dogs AND cats - it's a huge problem.

I've been told it's a "cultural" difference, just like littering - apparently there's some "culture" out there in which it's ok to let your pets run wild and to throw your trash in the streets. Who knew?

HtownLove · 07-09-2010, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LindaGrace

Stray dogs AND cats - it's a huge problem.

I've been told it's a "cultural" difference, just like littering - apparently there's some "culture" out there in which it's ok to let your pets run wild and to throw your trash in the streets. Who knew?

well the cats don't bother me. It is just sad that some a-hole speed up when they see a cat crossing the street. We were always pulling dead cats off of the street on woodlawn.

the dogs were out of control. I hated having to carry a stick with me when I walked my dog.

I do agree though. It is largely a cultural problem, that is why the cops don't do anything. They probably have dogs running loose themselves.

GlorifiedMalcontent · 07-09-2010, 07:45 PM

at least with cats, there are programs in place to keep them from reproducing. no real such inititive with dogs.

here's the regulations for animal control and care:
Animal Care Services

as you can see, there's many thing on this page (sale of animals, intact dogs, leash control) which are not regularly enforced.

ashbeeigh · 07-09-2010, 07:52 PM

I know I mentioned it when I worked downtown but it broke my heart to see the dogs that ran around homeless (or not at home) on the west side (Guadalupe and Zarzamora). I agree with the cultural argument wholeheartedly.

It's rarely an issue in my neighborhood as they're usually just dogs that happen to get out from someone's backyard and will find their way back or a neighbor will get them home soon.

HtownLove · 07-09-2010, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlorifiedMalcontent

at least with cats, there are programs in place to keep them from reproducing. no real such inititive with dogs.

here's the regulations for animal control and care:
Animal Care Services

as you can see, there's many thing on this page (sale of animals, intact dogs, leash control) which are not regularly enforced.

not many.... you mean none of this is enforced

Dreadlockd · 07-09-2010, 07:55 PM

500.00 fee per dog, per year? That's pretty steep and ridiculous.

There are plenty of responsible pet owners out here...myself included, who has never had any issues with my intact males getting out and making unwanted litters.

I agree there is a problem, but 500.00 per dog annually seems pretty steep.

HtownLove · 07-09-2010, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

I know I mentioned it when I worked downtown but it broke my heart to see the dogs that ran around homeless (or not at home) on the west side (Guadalupe and Zarzamora). I agree with the cultural argument wholeheartedly.

It's rarely an issue in my neighborhood as they're usually just dogs that happen to get out from someone's backyard and will find their way back or a neighbor will get them home soon.

yeah, Our neighbor in Beacon hill let loose a pure bred Bichon frise and a pure bred Poodle because his pit bull had puppies and he had 5 other dogs so he could not keep them all.

we took in the bichon and had the poodle adopted.
They are both the sweetest little things