Roaming dogs attempted to rip pet cat apart in Denver Heights

SAN ANTONIO – Two roaming dogs in the Denver Heights neighborhood nearly ripped a cat apart. The cat’s owner, Aaron Salinas, said she survived, but he still has questions.

“It’s just one of those things you really don’t know how to process in the moment,” Salinas said. “It’s not one emotion. It’s pretty much all the emotions.”

Since the attack, Chai, a 4-year-old cat, has gone into surgery three times. The incident happened on the East Side, and the attack only stopped after a neighbor threw a water bottle at the animals.

Salinas said he found Chai about an hour later and immediately took her to get help.

“There is a systematic problem within the city,” Salinas said.

This animal attack is far from the first dog attack in San Antonio, a topic KSAT 12 has reported on in the past. In some cases, dog attacks in the city have led to the loss of limbs. Some have also died.

“I put all accountability on the lack of human response or human prevention,” Salinas said.

After the incident, Salinas said he called 311 and shared his story online. After that happened, it caused a community uproar, Animal Care Services said.

ACS said for a week, it searched through the Denver Heights neighborhood for those dogs.

Michael Shannon, the interim ACS director, said they found seven roaming dogs. Two of those matched the description of this attack.

“It’s a big problem,” Shannon said. “We’re out there every day addressing dangerous situations and bringing in aggressive dogs off the street.”

ACS confirmed that one of the dogs involved in this attack was chipped, but a spokesperson said the owner did not reclaim it. Shannon said both of those dogs have since been euthanized.

The agency said it expects to add two new spay and neuter clinics by early 2025. Shannon said he hopes this helps with ongoing issues.

The photo used as a thumbnail in the video is courtesy of Aaron Salinas.