A judge has ordered that a San Antonio man’s dog be euthanized after the animal bit another man’s neck, causing a serious laceration.
Indio, a 3-year-old Presa Canario belonging to Marcus Anthony Davila, 40, will be destroyed by San Antonio Animal Care Services.
The decision followed a brief court hearing Thursday.
Davila, who is charged with two felony offenses related to the incident — dog attack causing serious bodily injury and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — waived his right to appear at the hearing. He is out of jail on bonds totaling $90,000, court records show.
The mauling occurred around 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 21 when Davila and the victim, Raymond Zamora, 53, crossed paths on a sidewalk at North Colorado and West Martin streets on the West Side.
Sgt. Shanna De La Cruz, ACS’ director of investigations, testified that Zamora was bent over when Indio grabbed him by the throat, pulling him to the ground.
Zamora suffered a large laceration to the front of his neck in two places, De La Cruz told the court. The injured man has since been released from University Hospital.
ACS took Zamora’s statement in the hospital and also reviewed video footage of the dog attack.
Municipal Court Judge Lisa Gonzales concluded Indio caused serious bodily injury and ordered the dog to be euthanized under the city’s Health and Safety Code.
Zamora told officers he was walking down the sidewalk that morning when a man, who was holding a dog by a leash, approached and accused him of stealing from a relative who lived nearby, the police report shows. Zamora, who was carrying tools at the time of the attack, reported the man tried to take the tools, and that Zamora reached down to retrieve the items. The dog then lunged at Zamora, who alleged that its owner wouldn’t pull the animal away.
Zamora claimed the other man was “telling the dog to attack him,” the police report shows.
When the dog finally let go, Zamora said he walked off and asked for help. Police arrived to find a bystander applying pressure to Zamora’s neck wound until an ambulance arrived.
Two witnesses told police they saw a man holding the dog by a leash and confronting Zamora, the police report shows. The dog’s owner then let it bite Zamora, the witnesses reported.
The man left the area with his dog in a red car.
Police went to that man’s home and spoke with his wife, who reported her husband had left for work with the dog. The woman then called her husband and told him to come home. When he returned with his dog, he was arrested.
ACS took Indio that day.
Davila’s attorney, Marc LaHood, was unable to attend Thursday’s hearing, but he later told the Express-News that he believes once the evidence is turned over to the defense, it will show the dog was defending its owner.
“Because the system let him down, this dog (will be) needlessly killed — the dog that saved him,” LaHood said of his client.
“It’s personal to me because my family’s a dog family. What’s the old saying? Dog is man’s best friend. They’re loyal, they’re protective and they don’t ask for anything in return.”