LONGVIEW, Texas — Residents are getting more answers after a man was found dead with dog bite wounds last week in Longview. This tragedy is forcing conversation among residents in the city wanting change – and the city is recognizing that.
City of Longview spokesperson Richard Yeakley said they are already looking at their current policies to see what they can change to prevent another situation like this.
"...We are doing everything we can and that we have been everything we can to prevent harm for our residents," Yeakley said.
Marilyn Sanders lives half a mile away from Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Rayburn Drive, where the suspected dog mauling happened. Sanders describes her neighborhood as quiet among neighbors, but when it comes to lose dogs, "we have to be really careful outside and they [the dogs] need to be tied up or caught," Sanders said.
This is the first time Sanders heard about what happened and she said it's sad to hear that someone would be attacked by dogs.
However, this isn’t the first time she’s heard about dogs attacking people in this neighborhood. She said an elderly man carries a stick around his walk to fight off dogs and keep them from attacking him.
"I think we were engaged for years doing what our policies and our ordinances allowed to prevent something like this from happening," Yeakley said.
Yeakley said a property owner was issued almost 50 citations in the last few years in the same neighborhood where the man died. He adds animal control was actively working in that area.
"Even to the point that there have been dogs that had been removed from the property owner’s care previously," Yeakley said.
CBS19 cannot confirm if this person is the owner of the dog or dogs who may have bitten the man that died. Longview police would not comment on this case as it is an ongoing investigation, but say an autopsy result is expected soon.
CBS19 asked Yeakley if the city had an ordinance where property owners are banned from owning pets after a certain number of citations, to which he replied they don't.
"Questions like that are going to need to be discussed as we reexamine everything to make sure all of our processes are in line. If that’s something the community wants to talk about, I think that’s something we can talk about," Yeakley said.
Sanders said she likes the idea of starting that conversation and believes the city of Longview can do better with controlling the lose dogs in the city.
"If they (property owners) can’t keep them (the dogs) up, they don’t need them," Sanders said.
Yeakley also reiterated the importance of reporting any lose pets or incidents directly to the city, not on social media. This method ensures officials can keep track of the number of incidents in a certain area.