The family of Dallas dog attack victim Antoinette Brown is threatening to sue the city of Dallas for $5 million, Acting City Attorney Chris Bowers said Thursday.
Bowers made the announcement at a meeting of the Dallas Animal Shelter Advisory Commission which is reviewing Brown's death.
Relatives said the 52-year-old woman was bitten more than 100 times by a pack on stray dogs on May 2.
"I think an important fact to keep in mind, the city did not own these dogs or control them," Bowers said. "We do not believe that the city has any liability here."
But officials realize people are watching how City Hall responds after many years of complaints about stray dogs in Dallas.
"We fully know and understand that our primary responsibility at the city here is to keep our residents safe," Assistant City Manager Joey Zapata said.
Dallas Animal Services had launched an improved program to respond to loose dog complaints just before Brown's death. Afterward, a deputy police chief was been assigned to help oversee improved cooperation between Dallas Animal Services and police. And Thursday, an outside consultant study of the entire operation was announced. Boston Consulting Group has been hired with outside donations to conduct the review.
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Animal Shelter Advisory Commission Chairman Peter Brodsky said the business consulting firm would provide "a fresh set of eyes," including comparison of Dallas methods with other cities.
"I don't think anything bad can come of that, and my hope is they can make a convincing case for a strategy that can be tried," he said.
Brodsky is a businessman and also the new owner of Southwest Center Mall, where he hopes to make extensive improvements to attract new business. He's said before that volunteering as leader of the Animal Shelter Commission is a step to help Southern Dallas thrive.
Brodsky was critical Thursday of progress Dallas Animal Services has made with the current operation. He asked why stray dog intake at the Animal Shelter has fallen by 12 percent while citizen complaints about stray dogs remain high.
"I'd analogize aggressive picking up of dogs as a finger in the dam. There's a hole. You've got to plug it. It's not a long term solution, but you've got to prevent the water from coming through. Then you've got to find a long term solution," Brodsky said.
Commission Member Jean-Paul Bonnelly said the long-term solution requires education and enforcement for irresponsible pet owners.
"We can go sweep and kill every dog on the streets of Dallas. In six months to a year, we're going to have the same damn problem we have today," Bonnelly said.
Zapata said Dallas Animal Services has added staff and boosted the number of citations issued to code violators, but the assistant city manager agreed much more work is needed.
"This loose dog crisis requires the full organization's response," Zapata said.
Dallas City Councilwoman Tiffinni Young, who represents the area where Brown was attacked, said action is needed and not a study.
"We do need a group of bodies that are solely focused on picking up the dogs so the rest of our staff can focus on education, they can focus on the enforcement piece of it," Young said. "I do not need a study to understand what the current issues are here in the city."
Brodsky said the consultant work will be completed in time for city budget discussions this fall.
"And then the City Council and the city manager will have a decision about whether to accept those recommendations," Brodsky said.
