A Stephens County couple was sentenced to prison in connection with the dog-mauling death of a child, marking the first conviction under Lillian’s Law, a state statute named in honor of Thorndale-area resident Lillian Stiles, who was killed three years ago by a pack of Rottweiler-pit bull cross dogs.

Mrs. Stiles’ husband, Jack Stiles of Thorndale, and their daughter Marilyn Stiles Shoemaker of Austin, lobbied the Texas Legislature to enact criminal penalties against pet owners, whose dogs maim or kill people. A 20th District Court jury in Milam County in March 2007 acquitted Jose Hernandez, the owner of six dogs on neighboring property that attacked and killed Mrs. Stiles, 76, as she tended to flowers in her front yard Thanksgiving weekend in 2005.

Mrs. Shoemaker said she is delighted that Lillian’s Law is working. After her mother’s death, Mrs. Shoemaker founded TxFADD, Texas Families Against Dangerous Dogs, to bolster awareness of dog attacks and pursue legislation aimed at placing criminal responsibility on pet owners, whose dogs instigate unprovoked attacks.

An Oct. 9 news story in the Graham Leader, written by Cherry Young, reported that Jack Smith and Crystal Watson of Stephens County each were sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $5,000 in connection with the dog mauling death of Tanner Monk, 7, of Breckenridge.

Mrs. Shoemaker said the pair is the first convicted under Lillian’s Law.

Passed into law in 2007 by the Texas Legislature, House Bill 1355 by state Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, and state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, imposes felony penalties against a dog owner if the pet causes serious bodily injury or death to a victim in an unprovoked attack. Penalties range from two to 20 years in prison plus fines.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that in 2002, out of 546 animal attacks, 485 involved domestic dogs.

Gattis’ bill was designed to send a strong message - properly secure your dog or face prison time - to irresponsible owners whose dogs cause serious bodily injury or death.

“We have an epidemic in Texas of dogs that horribly disfigure and kill innocent people,” Gattis said. “This is not just isolated to specific areas. The fact is that these attacks are happening all across our state and many times the victims are children and the elderly. What is especially infuriating is that these tragedies could have been prevented had the irresponsible owners secured their dogs. Their actions are no different from someone who leaves a loaded gun on a street and then walks away.”

Gattis emphasized that House Bill 1355 does not “target a specific breed, but rather focuses the attention where it belongs - on the owners who are in the best position to prevent the harm from occurring. It is also important to note that my bill does not criminalize every dog bite. We are focusing on vicious attacks involving death or serious bodily injury, which is already defined by law as ‘injury capable of causing death.’ What happened to Mrs. Stiles and so many others is horrible, and we must put a stop to these unprovoked attacks.”