Ungodly Pack Of Wild Dogs Torment Tiny Texas Town

Godley is a small town southeast of Fort Worth, on the farthest fringes of North Texas. It has a population of 5,661, a damn good taco shop and a wild pack of dogs tormenting the residents, per reporting from NBC5.

The pack, which can reach 40 on an especially scary day, roams the streets of the small town, inciting terror and ruining school drop-off. That’s right, residents say the dogs have collectively chosen school drop-off and pick-up times as their prime perusing hours.

“At this point, we now have dogs — feral dogs, obviously sick, obviously having issues, trying to find food, that are out and about at the same time that my children and our children are on the streets," resident Bruce Moats told NBC 5.

The dogs started low in numbers and only came out at night. But residents say as the pack gains members and confidence, they’re out with the sun, and looking for trouble.

“We have seen the increase of dogs, not only the quantity of dogs in the pack, but how often they’re coming through during the daytime, as well," said Taylor Weicht.

Neighbors assume the dogs have been abandoned, and now they’re hungry, sick and potentially violent.

“Shame on those people who are dropping their dogs off," said neighbor Tina Bench. “They’re starving. Our animals—our children are at risk.”
WFAA reports that Johnson County can’t legally round up the dogs. The small but growing town doesn’t have an animal services department, and the nearby shelters are full anyway, so Fido and friends stay. At a Godley City Council meeting tonight, councilmembers will make an action plan to deal with the dogs and discuss introducing penalties for abandonment.

"Abandoned animals strain local resources, endanger public health, and burden residents and shelters already stretched thin,” reads the proposed agenda item. “As a small city, we cannot absorb the consequences of this negligence without long-term damage to our environment and community well-being.”

"I don't have a solution, nor an answer, other than we are in dialogue with other cities in the county to see if there's something we can do to mitigate this problem,” said Johnson County Commissioner Rick Bailey.

Stray dog sightings are not exclusive to rural life, and a game of road trip I Spy through South Dallas is sure to feature a wild dog or two. Nine years ago, 52-year-old Antoinette Brown was mauled to death by a pack of dogs within city limits. Brown was bitten over 100 times. She died from her injuries in the hospital.

The incident was enough for then-Mayor Mike Rawlings to go on a ride-along through the South Dallas area to see just how rampant the wild dog problem was, triggering an action plan developed by third-party consultants.

"It's just unacceptable for aggressive dogs to be threatening the lives of anybody in this city," Rawlings said in 2016. "I am not only sad, but very unhappy."