Animal control picks up 4 dogs accused of biting teens in rural Edinburg
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Hidalgo County Animal Control picked up four dogs that two sisters in rural Edinburg say attacked them.
Channel 5 News cameras were rolling as the dogs were picked up on Tuesday.
“There are still dogs in the neighborhood, but they took the most aggressive ones,” Laura Hernandez said.
Laura is the mother of Janie Hernandez. Janie said she and her sister were walking to the bus stop along Bella Drive on Tuesday morning when dogs started chasing them.
“My sister was screaming because there was one big dog next to her,” Janie said. “There was one big dog that was trying to bite my face, and the other three dogs were at my legs."
The sisters said this is not the first time it has happened.
“Yesterday it was about four or five of them that came up to me and they bit me,” Janie said.
The sisters say they were also attacked by a pack of dogs in November 2024.
Janie says one dog sank its teeth into her sister's leg while walking home from the bus stop.
“I felt desperate because I didn't know what to do,” Laura said.
Laura said the girls went to the hospital to be checked out after each dog bite attack. They weren't seriously hurt, but Laura said she filed three reports with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office.
Laura said she also called Hidalgo County's Animal Control Division after each incident in hopes of getting the dogs removed from the area.
“We called animal control and they said they were going to come but never did,” Laura said.
Channel 5 News reached out to Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Animal Control Division. They sent the following statement in part:
“We are aware of the situation in question and can confirm that our team has responded to each reported incident. While previous attempts to locate the animals were not successful, during our response to the most recent incident, we were able to locate and retrieve four canines from the area, which will be transported to a contracted local shelter for further assessment and care. We remain committed to ensuring the safety of residents and animals and will continue monitoring the situation closely.”
Click here for the full statement.
The statement also said animal control officers could not find the dogs when they initially responded to the attacks. But on Tuesday, they picked up the dogs.
Channel 5 News was told the dogs were taken to a contracted shelter for further care. Channel 5 News also asked if the dogs were strays or if they belonged to anyone, but we are still waiting to hear back.
For now, Laura said she’s glad her kids can get on the bus and go to school knowing there are less dogs on the street.
“I feel calmer, thank you to all the people who helped,” Laura said.
Watch the video above for the full story.
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