Doris Mixon Smith was brutally mauled by a neighbor’s pit bull and lost her arm.

Four years ago, Petra Aguirre was feeding her cats in her backyard when a neighbor’s pit bulls tore through her fence and mauled her. She would die from the wounds.

A year ago, a dog attacked Abbey Garcia, then 4 years old, biting her on the face. She will require repeated plastic surgery.

Each of these horrifying attacks, detailed by Express-News reporters Vincent T. Davis and Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje, were preventable. The dogs were owned. The victims were innocent. There have been many other attacks like this in our community, and there will be many more until the community is able to instill a culture of responsible pet ownership.

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While there are ways to improve Animal Care Services, when it comes to public safety and customer service, the hard reality is these attacks reflect decades of irresponsible pet ownership. Until the community can transform in this regard, the attacks will continue. In other words, this is a problem bigger than Animal Care Services.

This isn’t to say ACS can’t do more. Of course it can do more to keep the public safe. But bear in mind, ACS has been aggressively addressing a host of animal welfare issues, and the agency has shown steady improvement in recent years.

Its budget has grown under the direction of City Manager Sheryl Sculley. The agency achieved no-kill status in late 2015, meaning at least 90 percent of all animals are adopted, placed in a shelter, returned to their owners, or in the case of feral cats, spayed/neutered and released in the community.

Spay/neuter surgeries have increased dramatically over the past five years, helping to control the animal population. Affordable microchipping allows ACS to better track animals. The agency is citing more and more owners for irresponsible pet ownership — a $300 fine. The city’s dangerous dogs ordinance, updated in 2012, aligns with state laws.

So where could things improve?

Inadequate fencing is an ongoing concern. Dogs simply escape from their yards or are not humanely tethered. Animal Care Services does have a fund that dedicates a portion of fees to fence repairs, but there is too much red tape.

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For example, judicial approval is required for each repair. These are minor repairs that could potentially keep dogs from roaming. The process should be streamlined, and the judicial review should be dropped. A financial audit, to ensure spending is appropriate, should suffice.

Customer service needs to improve. District 6 City Councilman Greg Brockhouse has said citizens are having a difficult time connecting with real people at ACS. It’s a frequent complaint. We’d like to see a customer service audit to identify communication holes at the agency.

Continued expansion of responsible pet-ownership education in schools, at community events and in neighborhoods is paramount.

Bexar County Judge Susan Skinner has created an animal abuse docket. County officials should consider expanding this effort into a formal animal welfare specialty court. There is a formal animal court in the city’s municipal court that consolidates expertise, stakeholders and resources, which officials have said works efficiently.

Responsible pet ownership means dogs don’t roam, animals are fixed, fencing is adequate, and attacks are not tolerated.

Until the entire community fully embraces this ethos, dogs will roam, and they will attack, maul and even kill.

COMMENTARY: Yes, ticket owners of roaming dogs in San Antonio