No charges filed against owner of dogs that killed 82-year-old Tarrant County man
A month after an 82-year-old Tarrant County man was attacked and killed by dogs while working in his yard, no criminal charges have been filed against the animals’ owner, according to court records.
Ronald Charles Anderson was found dead inside his home in the 7800 block of Slay Street, a neighborhood just south of Eagle Mountain Lake, the afternoon of June 16.
According to a search warrant issued to seize three dogs and other evidence in the case, Anderson’s girlfriend became concerned when she couldn’t contact him and asked a neighbor to see if he was OK. The neighbor and Anderson’s son arrived at the house about the same time and found the 82-year-old unresponsive on a living room sofa.
Sheriff’s deputies noticed a torn work glove and tennis shoes with puncture marks and blood on them on the back porch. Nearby were dog prints, according to the warrant. A trail of blood led into the house, where deputies found more items of blood-stained clothing with puncture marks.
“On Ronald’s body (were) several puncture wounds that were consistent with an animal attack,” the warrant states.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Anderson’s death an accident caused by “canine mauling.”
One of Anderson’s neighbors reported that three dogs from a nearby property had attacked her several times. She installed a 12-foot privacy fence in March, and “the dogs attempted to attack the workers multiple times a day,” according to the warrant.
The neighbor shared a March 7 video with investigators that showed two large dogs, a brown pit bull mix and a black Shepherd mix, charging the chain-link fence separating the two properties. The third dog didn’t appear in the video.
A large tree in Anderson’s back yard fell on his fence and damaged it, the warrant states. Part of an iron fence had been laid across the resulting hole, but it wasn’t secured, and a dog could have easily fit through the gap, a detective wrote in the warrant.
Deputies seized the three dogs — a brown pit bull terrier, a black Shepherd mix and a white Shepherd/Shiba Inu mix — from a home in the 9400 block of Ten Mile Bridge Road on June 17. They were to be kept in the custody of Fort Worth Animal Control. According to the warrant, the dogs’ owner was given 11 days to comply with the requirements of Texas law concerning dangerous dogs or request a hearing in Tarrant County’s Justice of the Peace Court 4.
The hearing has been set for Aug. 8, according to a Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. It’s not clear if the dogs are still in the custody of animal control.
A dangerous dog is defined in the law as one that attacks and injures a person unprovoked while outside their enclosure. They are required to wear a special tag, be kept on a leash or inside a secure area at all times, and be registered every year with the local animal control. Their owners must have liability insurance or be able to pay up to $100,000 in damages if the dog attacks and injures someone.
According to state law, a court can order the local animal control authority “to humanely destroy” or euthanize a dangerous dog if the owner has not complied with the requirements before the 11th day after the date on which the dog was seized.
The Star-Telegram hasn’t been able to reach the dogs’ owner for comment.
Family says death could have been prevented
Anderson’s daughter, Cinda Sackett, told KXAS-TV that the owner should have kept the animals contained if he knew they were causing problems in the neighborhood.
“It was not a necessary death, and it definitely could have been prevented,” Sackett told KXAS.
Anderson’s online obituary describes him as “a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and brother.” He served in the U.S. Army from 1964 to 1970 and worked on the BNSF Railway for 47 years.
“Ron will be missed by all who knew him,” his obituary states.
This story was originally published July 15, 2025 at 3:21 PM.
