SAN ANTONIO – The number of dangerous dog cases in San Antonio is on the rise — and so is the number of reported incidents, according to the San Antonio Animal Care Services.
Jon Gary, the director of Animal Care Services, said statistics from 2024 to the present show a steady increase in the number of dangerous dog cases in San Antonio.
While the direction of the numbers is not what he and other city officials want, Gary pointed out that the numbers reflect not only attacks but also incidents in which the public has contacted or connected with ACS.
“We’ve increased our staffing, as we increased our ability to respond to instances, we’ve seen an increase in the number of affidavits that we’ve received,” Gary said.
He referenced the connection during a recent public safety committee meeting, during which he presented to city council members.
Gary said that since the agency received more funding, more ACS officers can respond to calls and conduct investigations to determine whether a dog is dangerous or aggressive.
“So, they’ve roughly doubled during that time period, and that’s typically, I think, a lot of it, one, is due to staffing,” he said.
According to the data presented, the number of dog bites or attacks is on an upward trend, as is the number of dogs deemed dangerous or aggressive.
In 2024, just over 100 dogs were deemed dangerous, and 69 were deemed aggressive.
“(A dog is) dangerous if it attacks a person, aggressive if it attacks another animal,” Gary said.
The numbers jumped in 2025 to 283 dangerous dogs and 103 aggressive dogs.
Gary said he believes there is a relation between the high numbers and more people are reporting incidents to 311 and filing affidavits.
“We’re doing a lot better job as an organization of educating the people about their options when it comes to these individuals that are being attacked or being bit.”
He said the investigations sparked by the reports have led to the dangerous dog registry and the public map, which shows where dangerous dogs have been reported in San Antonio and details how aggressive they are.
With the positives, Gary does acknowledge the obvious.
“Ultimately we’re still (seeing) too many dangerous dog attacks,” he said.
Gary stressed that the goal is to dramatically reduce the number of dangerous dog cases in the city and said offering assistance to dog owners is one way to achieve that.
Another way, he added, is to make sure owners are aware of the hardships of having their pet dogs deemed dangerous, such as citations and insurance requirements.
“We’ve done multiple talks about what those violations can be and what can happen if your animal is found dangerous and what those penalties are,” Gary said.
Gary said the key to seeing the numbers drop is being proactive.
“We have some new programs that are out there that we really need to expand on, such as our Pet Care Connect program,” he said. “We’re going in neighborhoods where they’re seeing high instances of free-roaming dogs, and we’re trying to be proactive and prevent it from happening in the first place.”
In addition to ACS doing more, Gary said dog owners must do their part to help bring numbers down.
“It’s really about getting owners to take responsibility and ensuring the dogs don’t get free,” Gary said.
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