‘Somebody is going to get hurt’: Pack of wild dogs terrorizes North Texas city

A pack of about 40 wild dogs has a Johnson County community fearful of letting their children be outdoors.

The dogs have been roaming neighborhoods in Godley at night, including Star Ranch and Wildcat Ridge. Recently, neighbors have started reporting seeing the dogs out in packs during the day.

Bruce Moats, a resident of Star Ranch, has been speaking about his growing concerns about the dogs for months.

“Right now we have a clear and present threat that’s to the public safety of the citizens of Godley,” Moats told the Godley City Council in June.

‘Somebody is going to get hurt’

Council member Michael Matos put the dog issue on the agenda of a council meeting Tuesday. While Matos said that he isn’t the point of contact for the problem directly, he feels it is essential to prioritize it.

“I’m aware of the concerns being raised about the group of dogs in town, and I understand this is an issue of public interest,” Matos said. “Public safety is very important to me, and I take these concerns seriously.”

During the meeting, Moats, the Star Ranch resident, said he fears for his children and those of his neighbors.

“Please do something about this,” Moats told the council. “Don’t sit on your hands and do nothing. I’m imploring you, begging you, as a father, please do something about this. I have seen this threat firsthand working in my law enforcement career. It is a problem. When you dismiss it and you allow this to continue growing, it’s going to grow to a problem where somebody is going to get hurt.”

Animal shelters in North Texas don’t have space

But solutions may be difficult. Animal shelters in the region are unable or unwilling to take in unadoptable dogs, officials say. And people who are abandoning dogs are adding to the problem.

Councilman Matos said that he had reached out to the Texas Game Wardens, who couldn’t find shelters with space.

The Texas Game Wardens mainly deal with enforcing laws related to wildlife, hunting, boating and the safety of the public on Texas lands and waters.

“Matters involving loose domestic animals or livestock within city or county limits fall under the jurisdiction of local officials, such as animal control, sheriff’s offices or police departments,” a Game Wardens spokesperson said in a statement to the Star-Telegram. “Members of the public with concerns relating to livestock and domestic animals should reach out to the appropriate city or county authorities.”

Residents report wild dogs roaming Godley neighborhoods

Godley resident Heather Figueroa said this dogs issue goes back at least two years, but now the pack isn’t just roaming after dark. She told city leaders she sees them in her Wildcat Ridge neighborhood during the day, and the dogs come through her cul-de-sac and go back into the fields.

She and her husband coach a soccer team at Star Ranch and fear the dogs will come out during practice.

“I’m not a big person, I can’t contain 20-plus dogs to protect children,” Figueroa said at the council meeting. “I couldn’t do that for my four children. My youngest is 3. We can’t go in our cul-de-sac, because now during the daytime, when we want to go out and play, we are not able to because I don’t know when they’re coming out.”

Police Chief Darrell Vinson said his department has weighed multiple options, but there isn’t much they can do.

“We have thought of everything — but the biggest issue we have is these dogs live on a ranch in the county, I have no jurisdiction in the county,” Vinson said.

Rick Bailey, a Johnson County commissioner, said he believes the Sheriff’s Office is trying to work with local activists to possibly rescue the dogs.

“Hopefully the resolve will come quickly and that the county and the cities within Johnson County can find a way to mitigate this becoming a normal occurrence within our county,” Bailey told the Star-Telegram in an email.

City Administrator Angela Winkle said she reached out to a contact in Tarrant County to ask about relocating dogs there if Godley could trap even a couple of them.

“All the shelters all over the county area are full, and it’s terrible, but what they’re all trying to do is be no-kill shelters,” Winkle said. “They’re trying to go out for adoption on those, and so that’s why they’re a little overrun.”

Winkle added that the city will bring up the issue with county officials to see what partnerships could be formed for a long-term solution.

On Thursday, Vinson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Godley City Officials, along with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and the North Texas Humane Society, are creating a plan to rescue the dogs.

PETA calls attention to rising stray dog problems in Johnson County

Teresa Chagrin, an animal care and control specialist with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said this is something PETA is seeing every day with the rise of no-kill shelters.

Chagrin said shelters across the country are being pressured to not euthanize animals, and the outcome is animal breeding in the community, neglect and abuse.

“The only way to not euthanize at animal shelters is to refuse to accept most animals,” Chagrin said. “That’s what’s being done, and we’re seeing it across the country. And again, the results are more dying. They’re just not being euthanized. They’re instead dying by being hit by cars, being shot and strangled and beaten by people who are frustrated, don’t want them or consider them a nuisance.”

Chagrin said the solution lies in lobbying for more effective methods, such as spaying, neutering and stopping sales and breeding of animals to decrease the flow of neglected animals with nowhere to go.

This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 1:20 PM.