LONGVIEW, Texas — The City of Longview said Tuesday it's taking steps to control the stray dog population in their community. This comes after Kenneth Pierson was found dead next to his bike after he was attacked by a pack of dogs in a south Longview neighborhood.
Weeks later, the dogs' owner, Gilbert Martin Rodriguez, was charged in connection with his death. An investigation conducted by our newspaper partners at the Longview News-Journal revealed the city's animal control previously issued 50 citations to Rodriguez.
Pierson's family says the dangerous dog situation is a lingering issue.
"It had been a long-term issue," Pierson's longtime friend Petra Davis said.
Davis recalls the moment she got the call regarding Pierson's death.
"Disbelief. Just kind of... I was like none of this is making sense. I was like, 'a dog? Dogs? What are you talking about none of this is making sense," Davis said.
For Davis, these last couple of months have been a challenge without him, especially with their son Zayden. A giraffe gifted to Zayden by his dad is one of the few things he has to remember him.
"This giraffe was given to me by my dad’s mom because he wasn’t there to give it to me, but it’s really special to me because it makes me think about how much fun I had with him," Zayden said.
Davis said she didn’t realize how bad the stray dog situation was in the neighborhood where Kenneth lived until recently.
"He would talk about these dogs sometimes because he wouldn’t let Zayden walk with him because of these dogs," Davis said.
It's a death that is sparking change in how the city addresses the stray animal population.
"We have been spending more of our time in that portion of Longview," City of Longview spokesperson Richard Yeakley said.
He adds animal control is now taking steps to reduce the stray dog population in the city's south side, which is densely populated and has lots of underdeveloped land for dogs to live in.
"We are doing everything in our power to make sure incidents like this don’t happen in our community," Yeakley said.
Data gathered by our paper partners at the Longview News-Journal detail the number of dog complaints by Longview in Gregg Counties. From 2019-2023, 574 dog bites were reported in Longview, 208 in Gregg County, and nearly 1,500 animals ordered to be impounded. Davis said something should have been done sooner to prevent this tragedy.
"When you have when there’s multiple accounts, and you have children who are being threated, you have citizens being threatened where they can’t go in our out of business," Davis said.
In response to the numbers listed on that report, the City of Longview said animal control officers have written more than 300 citations regarding animals. The Longview Animal Care and Adoption center has taken in more than 1,200 in the past year. The city also increased animal control presence on the south side of the city.