NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas -- A dog is in quarantine after reportedly attacking two boys at the Comal River in New Braunfels the morning of June 20.
- 2 boys attacked by dog in Comal River
- Dog placed in 10-day quarantine
- Dog owner not charged as of Tuesday, June 24
The family said a tip from a social media post was able to lead New Braunfels Animal Control to the owner's residence, and from there, the dog was taken into quarantine.
"The dog was very aggressive. The dog was trying to hurt him," said Daniel Beversdorf.
Beversdorf said his grandsons were floating down the Comal River, like they do every weekday, when a dog jumped into the river at the last public exit and started chasing one of them in the water.
"I think he's just playing, but he grabs [Gavin] by the arm, bites him, Gavin pushes him off and jumps back in the water," Beversdorf said. "The dog keeps chasing him, he dives underwater enough and stays down long enough so the dog can't find him."
"I was swimming in the middle and it jumped and chased me all the way across and it bit my goggles," said 14-year-old Gavin Beversdorf.
"Finally, the owner calls him back after Gavin's been attacked and it just rams into my arm," said 11-year-old Braden Harrison. "It hits my arm once and it lets go and attacks my arm again."
The boys were left with bite puncture wounds and scratches and were taken to a nearby hospital, where they received rabies vaccinations.
"You can see the two canine teeth, and then you can see all the other bite marks," Braden said. "We got a bunch of shots, I got an X-ray on my arm to make sure there's no teeth in my arm."
The boys said at first, they thought the dog was approaching them because it wanted to play.
"That happens all the time," Gavin said.
Their grandpa quickly realized that wasn't the case.
"He wasn't trying to play, he was out there, in my opinion, the way it looked, to get him to kill him," Beversdorf said.
The family is thankful the injuries weren't any worse.
"We got really lucky, because every time he attacked him, they were in the water and they would fall down and he couldn't get a good grip on them. If it had been on land, I have no doubt that at least one of them would be dead," Beversdorf said.
He offered advice for those thinking of bringing their dogs out to a public place like the river.
"I encourage dog owners to make sure they're there with their dogs and they're not aggressive and they're not going to hurt people and they've got them under control," Beversdorf said. "There's a lot of dog owners out there and I'm not disparaging dog owners whatsoever. I love dogs. But dogs like that should have never been out there in the first place."
The boys said while it was a scary situation, they're just upset now that this throws a kink in their summer plans.
"I'm not gonna get to the river for a week and it sucks," Braden said. "It was packed yesterday."
But once they heal, the boys are looking forward to showing off their scars.
"Exactly, it's an awesome Halloween costume," Braden said.
"Battle scars, some battle scars on our arms," Gavin said.
According to the City of New Braunfels, a dog is required to be on a leash no longer than eight feet while at the Comal River. According to Beversdorf, the dog was off the leash.
Spectrum News reached out to New Braunfels police regarding this investigation and were referred to Animal Control, as they are handling this case. Currently, no charges have been filed, and this story will be updated once we get more information on the investigation.
The dog was required to be put in quarantine, at the owner's expense, for 10 days from when the bite happened, per the Texas Administrative Code:
§169.27. Quarantine Method and Testing. (a) When a domestic dog, cat, or domestic ferret which has bitten a human has been identified, the owner or custodian will be required to place the animal in quarantine until the end of the 10-day observation period.
Unlike most states, Texas does not have a statute which specifically covers a dog owner's responsibility for damages caused by their pet biting another person. Texas is commonly referred to as a "one bite state," meaning for an injured person to recover damages, he or she would have to prove the owner knew the dog had bitten someone in the past.
The injured person could also try and prove negligence. According to the Texas Health & Safety Code Sec. 822.005., the injured person would need to prove the owner was negligent and failed "to secure the dog and the dog makes an unprovoked attack on another person that occurs at a location other than the owner's real property."