Owner upset BCSO shot, killed her beloved cane corso

BCSO: Dog approached deputy aggressively

SAN ANTONIO – Maria Hines said she came home from work Tuesday to discover not only had Khan, her 2-year-old cane corso, gotten out of the house, he’d been shot to death by a Bexar County deputy.

She tearfully described what the deputy later told her: “'I shot him with a shotgun so it was quick and painless.'”

According to Johnny Garcia, a spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, by the time deputies arrived, the dog had already pinned down a little boy in a driveway.

Garcia said, luckily, three people were able to pull the boy away, so the child only had some scratches on him.

Hines said her dog had never bitten anyone. She said that Kahn often did “jolly hops,” pouncing on her grandkids like Tigger, the Winnie the Pooh character.

But Garcia said the dog also had chased a deliveryman. He said the deputy told neighbors to get back inside their homes because the dog was walking toward him, and when they didn’t, he whistled at the dog to distract him.

“The dog then lowered its ears, growled and headed toward the deputy aggressively,” Garcia said.

He said he feared the dog would attack him and, “He had no other choice but to shoot the dog.”

A resident who approached Hines to ask how she was and to explain what happened said no one had ever seen the dog in the neighborhood. Hines said that’s because, except for taking Khan for walks in the evening, she always kept him indoors or in her yard.

Hines said, unknown to her, Khan likely ran out of her garage when she left for work that morning.

Hines said the situation could have been avoided if neighbors had been able to get through to Bexar County Animal Control, but it was after 5 p.m.

“I would have paid $1,000, $2,000 to get him out of doggie jail,” Hines said.

Monica Ramos, Bexar County spokesperson, said Animal Control has only two officers in the field investigating calls for service on a priority basis during normal business hours.

“Should a call come in after hours, Animal Control may be dispatched if the animal is injured. Otherwise, the call is scheduled for the next business day,” Ramos said.

Hines said the agency needs increased staffing and funding to help avoid similar incidents.

If so, she said, “Someone else’s dog will live.”

Get more information on cane corsos by clicking here.


About the Authors:

Jessie Degollado has been with KSAT since 1984. She is a general assignments reporter who covers a wide variety of stories. Raised in Laredo and as an anchor/reporter at KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley, Jessie is especially familiar with border and immigration issues. In 2007, Jessie also was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.