Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes dangerous dog legislation filed after deadly attack in February

SAN ANTONIO – Update (Sunday, June 18):

Governor Greg Abbott has vetoed a bill that would have increased the criminal penalties for owners after a dog is deemed dangerous.

House Bill 4759, or the Ramon Najera Act, had passed through the House and the Senate before it was sent to Abbott’s desk last month.

According to legislative documents, the governor’s reason for the veto is shared below:

“Texas’s existing criminal laws penalize attacks by dangerous dogs — so much so that felony arrests have already been made of the dog owners responsible for the tragic attack that took the life of a distinguished Air Force veteran in San Antonio, and that was the catalyst for House Bill No. 4759. The justice system should be allowed to work without the overcriminalization found in this bill. I look forward to working with the author to create investigations and procedures that stop dog attacks before they happen.”

The measure was written by San Antonio area lawmakers following the death of Najera in February.

The 81-year-old was killed in February by a pack of dangerous dogs.

The Ramon Najera Act would have allowed for anonymous reporting to Animal Care Services and would have made it easier for ACS to remove dangerous dogs.

Original:

For the first time publicly, the family of Ramon Najera is speaking about him.

The 81-year-old was killed in February by a pack of dangerous dogs.

“My dad, he was a military man. He started out, you know, in the military, you know, he got out of high school and joined the military,” Raymond Najera said.

You can see a lot of Ramon Najera in his son Raymond, between their green thumbs and frugality.

”Coupon King. He always carried those coupon books wherever he went,” Raymond said with a smile and a laugh.

Raymond’s father is still with him, even though he was taken on February 24th after several pit bulls attacked Ramon and his wife.

Raymond’s stepmom is still recovering.

“She has that fear that it’s gonna be…something’s gonna come up on her. And, you know, just the way she was attacked,” Raymond said.

Their family is turning that pain into action, traveling to Austin to speak on behalf of Texas House Bill 4759 authored by Liz Campos at a public hearing.

HB 4759 allows for witnesses to remain anonymous when animal care services investigates incidents and once a dog is deemed dangerous, the report is turned over to local courts to prosecute as a class C misdemeanor as a first offense and third-degree felony for repeated offenses.

“They may be small changes but they’re significant changes,” Raymond said.

He’ll be sharing his father’s story, hoping it’ll appeal to lawmakers so they’ll back this bill and keep this tragedy from happening to another family.

If it becomes law, it’ll bear his dad’s name.

“It’s bittersweet. You know, he’s gone but his name will still be, you know, archived in Texas…Texas state,” Raymond said.

The public hearing for HB 4759 is happening Monday.

Raymond is asking people to stand with him and call on their representatives to back the bill.

Two other pieces of legislation have been filed by San Antonio area lawmakers relating to dangerous dogs, not only in our city but across the state.

You can read about HB 4909 and HB 2226 here.

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