No charges will be filed against a Brownsville man accused of stabbing Pandora, an American Bulldog, in July 2022, authorities said.
The case will be dismissed against Juan Rodriguez Rodriguez because under Section 822.013 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, a dog that is attacking, is about to attack or has recently attacked a domestic animal may be killed, Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said Monday.
Authorities said Pandora was attacking a dachshund that belonged to Rodriguez Rodriguez.
The incident occurred July 17, 2022, at the 6300 block of Tecate Drive, on the east side of Brownsville.
An investigator at the DA’s office worked that case and submitted the result of his investigation to the office to determine whether charges would be filed.
“After looking at all the facts and looking at the law the decision is clear, the case has to be dismissed,” Saenz said. “It’s unfortunate but it something that people need to be aware that the law does give a person in the situation a defense and this is something that is unfortunate for both, for Pandora’s owner and the puppy’s owner.”
According to a witness, she saw Pandora attacking a smaller dog that belonged to Rodriguez Rodriguez on Tepepan – a few blocks away from where Pandora lives- and he tried to stop the attack and protect his dog, a DA’s office investigator said.
The witness said Rodriguez Rodriguez, tried to separate the dogs, but he wasn’t able to do so. He then ran into his house and came out with a knife looking for the American Bulldog that had attacked his dog, chased the dog about three homes down and stabbed it, according to the investigator. “It happened pretty quick.”
The DA’s office said Rodriguez Rodriguez appeared remorseful of what he did and that he only wanted to protect his dog.
The DA’s office has tried to contact Pandora’s owner to tell him the case was going to be dismissed but has been unsuccessful, Saenz said.
According to the sheriff’s department, Pandora’s owner contacted the department and told authorities his dog had been stabbed. The owner wrote online that the dog was “stabbed to death due to puncture wounds located on the chest and neck.”
The family had been playing with Pandora that Sunday afternoon and left Pandora outside for about 20 to 30 minutes, said Tony Lopez, a member of Brownsville Animal Defense. The dog had gotten out from its yard, and it’s believed this is when Rodriguez and the bulldog came into contact.
“They went out looking for the dog and found it dead a couple of houses down the road,” Lopez said.
Lopez said someone who witness the attack told the family: “The man down there stabbed him.”
