Reform at Dallas Animal Services received strong support from city council members Monday after last month’s fatal dog attack.
Antoinette Brown, 52, was mauled by a pack of dogs May 2 and later died of the injuries. Relatives said she had been bitten more than 100 times.
At a briefing on possible law and procedure changes Monday, members of the Dallas City Council Quality of Life Committee were critical of current operations and management.
Council Member Sandy Greyson went further than the briefing, suggesting Animal Service calls for loose dogs should be handled by 9-1-1 instead of the current method of calls to 3-1-1 or placing complaints online.
Greyson said the latest report on the Brown case, issued Friday, demonstrated the need for something different.
“To read all of the gaps and all of the mistakes and all of the failures, disheartening is too mild a word,” Greyson said. “There are too many gaps and failures in the way 311 responded. I think we need to go to 911, and we need to advertise and tell people.”
Council Member Tiffinni Young, who represents the neighborhood near Fair Park where Brown was attacked, supported the 911 suggestion and questioned the leadership of Animal Services Director Jody Jones.
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“We need someone else in charge, focused on this issue,” Young said. “We need to be focused on picking up the dogs.”
A member of the Animal Shelter Advisory Commission spoke in support of Jones after the meeting.
“She’s got years of experience. That was the reason they did the campaign to bring her here to Dallas,” Commission member Maeleska Fletes said. “It takes time to fix these problems.”
After the fatal attack, the city manager also appointed a high ranking Dallas police official to support Animal Service improvements.
Council members Wednesday said they want tougher enforcement of existing laws, including registration, which they said often goes overlooked.
“This passive acceptance of violating our ordinances leads to the increased slippery slope of violating other issues,” Councilman Adam McGough said.
The committee appointed Young to review a list of possible law and procedure changes for a city council vote in the near future.
“Anything that helps us deal with these irresponsible people,” Greyson said. “Doing the same thing we’ve always done has proven to not work.”
