Woman seeks El Paso policy change after dog fight leads to her pet being euthanized
EL PASO, Texas-- A pet owner’s worst nightmare became a horrific reality for one east El Paso dog owner. Mimi Macias had to euthanized her 7-year-old Pit Bull Dobby on Monday after it was viciously attacked by her other Pit Bull. The aggressor had been with Macias and her family for about four months, and had never showed signs of aggression up until this past Saturday.
"It got so ugly they stopped making noise so I thought that's even worse. I ran inside and I told my daughters do not come outside and said this pit is killing my other dog," Macias said.
Not knowing what to do, Macias began to call for help. She called the police, went to the police department and finally got the number to Animal Services.
"I called Animal Control, Animal Services, the Police department, went to the Police station on Pebble Hills,” Macias said. "All I kept getting was call this number leave a message, you call the number the mail box is full; no one was there to help me, nobody could do anything, nobody could give me answers."
Animal Services dispatched an officer to assist Macias, however after an investigation they determined there was no immediate danger to either animals nor human life.
"I tried to surrender the dog, I called and they said that the program was not available anymore and that the dog was my responsibility and it was my property, and I told them ‘how is it that you want me to keep this dog with the other dogs, you don't want to take her, which can pose a threat to my other dogs or to myself,’” Macias said.
ABC-7 reached out to Animal Services to find out what their policy is when it comes to surrendering an animal.
"The owner can do an owner surrender and that is what the officers did here. They gave her that number that you are talking about, and the owner surrenders come here by appointment," Animal Services Director Paula Powell said.
ABC-7 asked if surrendering a pet was an option, Animal Services said it was the owner’s responsibility to surrender a pet via a veterinarian, or bringing them in themselves with an appointment.
Animal Services encourages anyone with a pet emergency to dial 3-1-1 and ask to speak to a supervisor to expedite the process.
