Elderly Texas Man Dies After Horrific Dog Attack, Owners Sentenced

Last year, an elderly Air Force Veteran died in a horrific dog attack while shielding his wife from three aggressive American Staffordshire terriers, according to the NY Post.

Now, the couple who owned the dogs have been sentenced to lengthy prison stays. Christian Moreno was sentenced to 18 years, while Abilene Schnieder was sentenced to 15 years, according to Yahoo News.

If that seems like a steep prison sentence for what could be considered simple negligence, you should know some other facts about the dogs, and their owners.

The San Antonio couple allegedly used meat to train the dogs to be aggressive, which clearly worked. Tips had come in from neighbors about the animals exhibiting dangerous behavior.

The city had neutered the animals after they had attacked two other people in two other instances, begging the question as to why the couple was still allowed to own the animals.

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In other words, they were well-established to be dangerous dogs before the lethal mauling occurred.

The animals were kept unsecured without tethers and easily escaped a hole in the fence. It was after all these warning signs that they mauled Ramon Najera, 81, to death, and even dragged his body down the street.

His wife, 74-year-old Janie was also severely injured in the attack, along with a friend of the couple's and a responding firefighter. Firefighters had to use pickaxes to defend themselves against the animals.

Once subdued, the animals were subsequently euthanized by animal services.

The couple recently pled guilty, and received their sentences for, "attack by dog resulting in death."

If the couple gets paroled at any point, they are not allowed to own dogs again. Clearly, they should have never owned any dogs in the first place.