SAN ANTONIO – You can view a map of dangerous and aggressive dogs in San Antonio here.
1-year-old baby attacked by dogs dies, ID’d by Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office
Below is a breakdown of what the classification process involves and steps you can take to start the process for a dog in your neighborhood:
The process to have a dog classified as dangerous or aggressive in the City of San Antonio begins with an affidavit.
You can find a copy of that affidavit here. On this document, you must provide detailed information about a dog attack that you witnessed or were involved in. This information should include what happened, when it occurred, which dog was involved, the extent of damage or injury to you or your pet, and information about the dog’s owner, along with a detailed account of the incident.
The affidavit must be formally notarized. ACS notes that an officer can guide you through this process and notarize the document for free.
In order for a dog to be identified as dangerous, ACS says it must do the following:
- The dog must make an unprovoked attack on a person that results in bodily injury. The incident must occur outside an enclosure where the dog was kept, and it must be reasonably certain the dog could not have left on its own.
- Additionally, if the dog commits unprovoked acts outside the enclosure and those acts cause someone to reasonably believe the dog will attack and inflict bodily injury, the behavior can be considered dangerous.
If the criteria are met, dogs can be identified as dangerous or aggressive. Aggressive dogs are categorized between 3 levels.
The legal consequences for dangerous dogs are that they must be:
- licensed
- wear a special identification collar
- be kept in a secure enclosure
- be muzzled when outside
- be microchipped
- spayed/neutered
The dogs’ owners must:
- purchase a $100,000 liability insurance policy
- post a special warning sign
- attend a pet ownership class
- allow an annual inspection
Between the three levels of aggressive dogs, the circumstances and time frames can vary, but each includes:
- a license
- microchip
- secure enclosures
- proper restraints
- signage
- muzzle
Unowned dogs that are found dangerous are humanely euthanized and tested for rabies in accordance with state law.
