Texas Woman Arrested After Dogs Kill Toddler

SAN ANTONIO, TX - A Texas woman faces felony charges after her dogs fatally attacked a 1-year-old boy in the San Antonio area on Monday.

Heather Rodriguez, 36, left her 13-year-old daughter alone with the boy she was babysitting, Jiryiah Johnson, in a locked bedroom to keep them away from the dogs. However, the dogs broke through the door and attacked the child, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said during a press conference.

The teen girl tried to protect the boy but struggled to fend off the dogs, leading to what Salazar described as a “tug-of-war for the baby” between the girl and the dogs. She managed to get Jiryiah into a bathroom, but the dogs broke in again. After retreating to another room, the girl was able to call for help. Jiryiah sustained fatal injuries to his head and throat and was rushed to the hospital, where he died later that day.

Salazar expressed disbelief at Rodriguez’s decision to leave her dogs alone with her daughter and the young boy, saying, “In a house full of vicious dogs, what did this lady think was going to happen?”

Rodriguez, who had previously been cited for having unleashed dogs, was arrested on charges of serious bodily injury by omission. Additional charges of endangering a child and reckless injury were later filed, and she remains in Bexar County Jail.

Authorities noted that there had been earlier complaints about the dogs, including an April incident where a man reported a pack of loose dogs outside his car, fearing for his safety. All the dogs involved in Monday’s attack are set to be euthanized pending animal control’s decision.

Jiryiah’s family has set up a GoFundMe to help cover funeral and medical expenses.

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