81-year-old Air Force veteran Ramon Najera Jr and injured his wife, Juanita “Janie” Najera, in the 2800 block of Depla Street, which is in the 78207 ZIP code. The dogs’ owners, Christian Alexander Moreno and Abilene Schnieder, both faces charges of attack by a dangerous dog causing death and injury to elderly by criminal negligence, according to court records. The dogs involved in the attack were euthanized.
Despite these high-profile incidents, the Express-News analysis of city data does not show an increasing trend of animal bites. San Antonio residents have reported an average of about 300 animal bites per month, according to the data. Most of the calls regarding animal bites came from ZIP codes in central San Antonio.
Norwood said a bite is characterized as an injury that breaks the skin. A bite is categorized as critical based on the severity of the wound and how the person was injured. A critical status is usually not given when animals bite other animals.