Residents call for more intensive cleanup of camp after homeless man’s dog attacked woman

SAN ANTONIO – Elizabeth Daniel and her dog Torin were walking along the Leon Creek Greenway like they did every day.

It was July 12th and the two wanted to do some exercise before it got too hot outside.

On their usual route, Daniel and Torin passed a homeless couple and two dogs. One was on a leash and being controlled by the couple. The other had a leash and harness, but no one was holding him.

The dog attacked, biting Torin on the front and back legs and biting Daniel on the leg in several places.

Daniel tells us that she dragged the dog away from them with the knife and that this supposedly saved her life.

They are both still recovering, but Daniel told us on Friday that she doesn’t know if she will be able to return to her daily walks.

“I felt very safe in one place, but now I don’t feel safe anymore,” said Daniel. “I don’t want to risk something like that happening again. It was very scary.”

The dog that attacked Daniel and Torin was in the care of a homeless man who reportedly lived in an encampment near the trail.

“It hurts that nobody cares. If they had cared more, this would never have happened. Because this has been a problem for years, it didn’t happen overnight,” said Daniel.

The trail network is extensive and more than 20 miles long, stretching from the Rim to West Military Drive.

Daniel’s attack occurred near the southern end of the Greenway.

We asked the city about the encampments along the Leon Creek Greenway and how often they are cleared.

The city told us it cleared an encampment in Oscar Perez Park last Friday and that there have been five cleanups along the greenway this year.

The Waste Management Authority explained that these were one-off cleanups and not recurring waste disposal operations that would require frequent clearance.

The Parks and Recreation Department also conducts minor cleanup activities when needed.

Parks are required to report homeless encampments to DHS so they can be assessed and informed. When our services are needed for cleanup efforts, we coordinate with DHS and SWMD on these larger efforts. These encampments are temporary in nature. Members often move after one encampment is cleared and start a new encampment elsewhere.

The I-Team walked a portion of the trail near where Daniel was attacked to see if we encountered any camps.

The main areas near the Dora Jordan and Potranco Road trailheads were clear, but near the Potranco Road trailhead we found this large camp just a little way off the main trail.

You can see shopping carts, storage containers and bicycles. There is also a man sleeping in a tent.

“There are at least two large camps down here, one of them is really big and has been there for years,” Daniel told us.

She says she wants the city to patrol these trails more often, and she doesn’t want the dog that attacked her to be released.

This could happen in the next few weeks.

The dog is still in the care of ACS after quarantine and the department informed us that he has been classified as dangerous.

A scan of the dog’s microchip showed that he actually belonged to a family from San Antonio before he disappeared and ended up with the homeless man.

According to ACS, the family has indicated that they want to reclaim the dog.

“It’s a dangerous animal,” said Daniel. “They failed to control the dog in 2019. It escaped again. And now we’re giving this dangerous dog back to these people who couldn’t control it in the first place? That makes absolutely no sense to me.”

ACS representatives issued the following statement:

This dog bite could have been prevented and someone was injured because an irresponsible person did not control the dog in their care. ACS investigated the incident along the trail and Chacho was deemed dangerous. His previous owners have been notified and as required by law, the dog will be released into their care if they meet the necessary requirements.

“It is our right as citizens to know what is happening around us and in our environment,” said Daniel.

What constitutes a dangerous dog is defined by state law and further explained by city ordinance.

According to San Antonio, a dog is considered dangerous if:

• It is an unprovoked attack on a person that results in bodily harm. The incident must have occurred in a location other than the enclosure in which the dog was kept and the dog must be reasonably prevented from leaving the enclosure of its own accord.
• Unprovoked acts are committed in a location other than the enclosure in which the dog is kept, and it is reasonably certain that the dog cannot leave the enclosure of its own accord, and those acts give a person a reasonable belief that the dog will attack that person and cause him or her bodily harm.

How to report a dangerous or aggressive dog in San Antonio and Bexar County

The city’s list of dangerous dogs can be found here

To report a camp, the city’s website provides the following instructions:

The Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) assists the City’s Social Services Department in the removal of stashes on public property. The Social Services Department coordinates the remediation services and then works with the SWMD to remove any remaining items.

To request this city service, call 311 Customer Service at 3-1-1 or 210-207-6000. 311 is available seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.