{"id":829045,"date":"2026-05-29T01:55:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T01:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/829045\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T01:55:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T01:55:18","slug":"san-antonio-dog-bite-cases-rise-despite-15-million-budget-increase-for-animal-care-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/829045\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio dog bite cases rise despite $15 million budget increase for Animal Care Services"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez speaks during Thursday\u2019s public safety meeting at City Hall. Credit: Michael Karlis<\/p>\n

Members of City Council\u2019s Public Safety Committee expressed dismay during Thursday meeting at Animal Control Services\u2019 lackluster performance last year despite a $15 million boost to its budget. <\/p>\n

The budget increase, phased in over the past two years, also came in conjunction with a change in the department\u2019s top leadership. Despite both, ACS director John Gary presented numbers suggesting San Antonio\u2019s stray and dangerous dog problem may be getting worse. <\/p>\n

Beyond that, when pressed by District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez about the data, Gary revealed that ACS does not currently pick up stray dogs due to a lack of space in its holding facility. Instead, he explained, the department is focused on dealing with dangerous dogs cases and bite responses. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s the problem right there,\u201d McKee-Rodriguez said. \u201cWhen those dogs are roaming , if they\u2019re unfixed, what are they doing? They\u2019re expanding the population. Then those animals start to congregate, and they form packs. Then they became dangerous animals. So, the root of the problem is much further down. It starts at those low-level calls.\u201d<\/p>\n

The number of ACS dangerous dog cases ultimately dismissed in the courts jumped 53% between fiscal years 2024 and 2025, Gary told council members. He also added that the number of cases investigated by the department without a completion increased by 19%.<\/p>\n

All of this comes as the number of dangerous dog cases snowballed by 73% during over the same time period. <\/p>\n

Gary blamed number of dismissed cases on the judicial system and the lack of witness cooperation.<\/p>\n

Two dog-attack victims and animal activists who spoke at Thursday\u2019s meeting \u2014\u00a0Kathy Vale and Kelly Walls \u2014 urged City Council to get out front of the city\u2019s dangerous dog problem instead of reacting to incidents after they already happen. <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time somebody is killed or someone loses an arm or a leg, city council is reactive,\u201d Walls said.<\/p>\n

District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte, who\u2019s often at odds with McKee-Rodriguez when it comes to public safety, agreed with his colleague that the city was falling behind. He suggested working with McKee-Rodriguez on a Council Consideration Request to build an additional ACS satellite office to hold additional stray dogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad we added the additional resources that we did a couple of years ago,\u201d Whyte said. \u201cI think we\u2019re certainly making the improvements there, but there\u2019s more to be done. This is most definitely a public safety issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary said the best resource ACS could acquire from council is more staff.<\/p>\n

Even so, Gary\u2019s ask and the issues at ACS come as San Antonio navigates a projected $130 million budget deficit by 2028. In addition to dealing with the dangerous dog problem, council is also at odds over plans to hire new police officers and whether to approve a possible San Antonio Water System Rate Hike.<\/p>\n

Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"San\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tACS officials also revealed at a Thursday public safety meeting that the department doesn\u2019t pick up stray dogs due to a lack of space at its holding facility. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Comedian\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tPoundstone will perform a stand-up show Saturday, May 30, at San Antonio\u2019s Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"San\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe woman insists she\u2019s not a racist after referring to the Black councilman as a \u2018monkey.\u2019\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u200b<\/p>\n

\t