Texas Town Terrorized by Pack of 40 Stray Dogs

As many as 40 wild dogs are swarming the Texas town of Godley, leaving families terrified to let their kids outside and city officials admit they’re helpless to stop it.

A pack of strays has basically taken over the small city of Godley, Texas. What started as a rare sighting months ago has snowballed into a legitimate safety concern. Residents in the area say the dogs used to only creep around at night. Now, they've got too much courage and prowl the streets during the day.

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This isn't just a small group of dogs roaming around; there have been sightings of packs as big as 40 dogs. One dad, Bruce Moats, says he’s reached his breaking point:

“The dogs are going to look for food, and I don’t want my children to be that dog food.”

A terrifying encounter with the pack of dogs.

Moats said a recent encounter with the pack turned terrifying. As his family got out of the car, barking broke out, and suddenly a swarm of dogs came charging. His wife grabbed their daughter and ran inside, his son locked himself in the SUV, and Moats ran to grab his gun, hoping he wouldn’t have to use it but ready to defend his family from harm.

Neighbors say many of the dogs look malnourished and sick, making the situation even more dangerous.

“At this point, we now have dogs, feral dogs, obviously sick, obviously having issues trying to find food, that are out and about at the same time that my children and our children are on the streets,”  Moats said.

A city left feeling helpless.

Johnson County Commissioner Rick Bailey admitted abandoned animals are a growing problem, but with full shelters and no clear authority to round up the dogs, residents are basically on their own.

"I don’t have a solution, nor an answer, other than we are in dialogue with other cities in the county to see if there’s something we can do to mitigate this problem," Commissioner Bailey honestly explained.

The Godley City Council is now weighing stricter punishments for people who abandon animals, but families want immediate action before the pack strikes again.