AUSTIN, Texas — Months after two families had their dogs killed by other dogs in Kyle, the city council has passed a new version of the dangerous animal ordinance.
"Sometimes it takes an unfortunate event for us to realize that we need to make some improvements," said Kyle City Councilmember Dex Ellison. “It was clear to myself and colleagues on council that we needed to review our dangerous animal ordinance.”
He said the two families brought attention to the issue.
KVUE reported on the two families who lost their pets due to dog attacks in October.
Shonte Gordon, one of the dog owners, told KVUE on Friday the incident last summer was traumatic. Her son took their poodle terrier mix, CJ, outside in the backyard when she heard a commotion.
“When I looked out the window it was just a horrific scene of the three pit bulls tearing my dog apart," said Gordon. “It was very traumatic. Our family has never experienced anything like that.”
Gordon said the dogs broke through the fence, attacking their dog. CJ later died.
In August, a 14-year-old pit bull, Lia, was killed by two other dogs.
"You know, we do feel like a victim for the simple fact that someone else's property got onto our private property and they killed our property," said Fred Gonzales to KVUE in October.
The dogs involved in these attacks are deemed "dangerous" by the city. A "dangerous" animal is one that is unprovoked but bites a human, or another animal that is harmed – either bitten or killed – by another animal, according to Ellison.
Gordon said she wanted to see change.
“I saw that there was specific discrepancies and what was happening with our incident and what was in the ordinance," said Gordon.
So she went to the council, getting her message across.
Ellison said the changes in the ordinance were pretty much citizen-led.
“I think it’s a fantastic thing for citizens to be able to engage with their local government," said Ellison.
With the revised ordinance, Ellison said one of the goals was to make the rules more clear for citizens to understand.
On Thursday, the second and final reading of the ordinance passed.
“One of the major ones was including municipal court as the final arbiter on determining if an animal is deemed dangerous in our city," said Ellison.
Gordon said that she feels her voice was heard.
“We’re really happy about the changes and the recommendations because we really feel like our voice was heard," said Gordon. “We don’t want any other family to have to deal with what we dealt with."
Other pieces of the ordinance include requiring three signs minimum on the property where a dangerous animal is, and continuous fence inspections, among other things.
To read the ordinance itself, click here. You can watch the ordinance reading here.
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