Courtesy photos by Jonathan Alonzo
We recently caught wind that San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg is a huge dog lover. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to interview him over the phone earlier this week to learn about his family’s love for Boston Terriers, his favorite dog-friendly trail, and his hopes for San Antonio as it continues to grow as a dog-friendly city. Read more in our interview below.
The following is a transcript of the phone interview with Dog Friendly SA founder Amy Johnson and Mayor Ron Nirenberg. It has been edited for brevity and clarity.
DFSA: So to start off, what kind of dog do you have? From my understanding, you had…was it Moses and he was a Boston Terrier?
Ron: Yeah. Moses Anakin. My son named him.
DFSA: I guess you guys are Star Wars fans?
Ron: Yeah. He was a Boston. He was a rescue that we got from Weatherford, Texas. We’ve had three Bostons in our lives together since Erika and I’ve been married, two of which have been since…Jonah’s been born, the last 10 years.
DFSA: Nice. So with your most recent dog, you said he was a rescue from Weatherford, Texas. Did you find him through a local organization?
Ron: Yeah…We have been part of the Boston Terrier rescue network in Texas. And there’s different locations where Bostons are rescued from breeders or they’re found or … Any rate, there’s a network of fosters, I guess you could say. And my wife really fell in love with the breed when we had our first Boston when we got married, and we’ve been Boston owners ever since.
DFSA: Oh, nice. What were the names of your other Bostons that you had?
Ron: Our first one was a rescue named Sir Beauregard Speeding Bullet. We called him Bullet. Our second that we got as a puppy was Bo Diddley Beat.
DFSA: Bo Diddley Beat?
Ron: Yeah.
DFSA: That’s awesome.
Ron: And we just called him Bo, B-O. And then he lived to 2014. We’ve had Moses for five years. He was a little older and he passed away a few months ago.
DFSA: I’m really sorry to hear that.
Ron: He had a good life.
DFSA: That’s good. So you mentioned earlier before we started that you anticipate probably looking for another dog. I imagine you’ll be looking for another Boston Terrier?
Ron: Maybe. When I grew up, I had larger dogs. I’ve been trying to convince my wife to get a hound, but really what we’ll do is we’ll go to the shelters and take my son, see which dog he connects with and which wants to come home.
DFSA: Yeah. I myself, I became a dog owner as an adult about a year and a half ago and through a local foster program through SNIPSA.
Ron: Oh, yeah.
DFSA: So when I was doing some skipping around trying to look into your dog history, I found an old interview that talked about a family tradition that you guys have called ‘No Sitting Saturdays.’ Is that something that you guys still do?
Ron: Yeah. Unfortunately, No Sitting Saturdays lately has meant just work for me. But yeah, we do. We try to go to a part of town that’s having an event or a festival or just try to get out and show my son different areas of town and just experience the community every Saturday morning.
DFSA: So when you did have Moses and your other dogs, were there any favorite parks or trails here in town or in the area that you enjoy taking your dog to?
Ron: Yes. So, Phil Hardberger Park was the favorite and really the connection with the Salado Greenway Trails. He loved to go out there. Every Boston we’ve ever had used to overestimate their own stamina, so they always loved to go hiking with us and just be out in nature. We do have a big park across the street from our house too that’s part of this neighborhood and that’s where he likes to run free. We don’t have much of a yard, which is more conducive to a Boston, but he does like to get out in the park.
DFSA: Nice. What is your favorite part about being a dog owner and having a family with a dog?
Ron: Especially after a long day, having someone who’s excited to see you when you get home, but also just the unconditional love of a dog is almost irreplaceable. They don’t complain. They just want to be near you.
DFSA: Exactly. There are many different facets to this question I guess, but how do you see dogs impacting our city?
Ron: Well, in significant ways. I mean, the work that we’ve done with our various animal advocacy organizations and with the city’s own animal care services have really raised the profile about animal welfare. I forget who said it, I think it was Gandhi, but the way a society treats its animals … I forget the quote, but you know what I’m getting at.
Ron: It’s an indication of the level of civilization, but we really work together as a community to, I would say, raise the respect that people give to animals in general. In addition, it’s changed the way we build infrastructure. I mean we’ve increased park space in large part because families like to use them and it’s important for recreation, but also because people have extended beyond just human beings. You see that with dog parks and the way we have the facilities and so forth. Well it has made our society a little bit more enlightened about how we treat life … in general.
DFSA: So with Moses, for example, we talked about some of the parks that you liked to go to. Did you guys ever go out and about to take him to, I don’t know, your favorite patio restaurant or have any other places that you liked to take him to?
Ron: Not as much to restaurants. There are a few. There’s a place off of … I’m gonna say Wetmore. I don’t think that’s the road, though. Momo’s and other outdoor cafes where it would be okay to be on a leash and not cause a ruckus. But Boston’s by their very nature are very hyperactive. So we didn’t generally take him to many places that have … Where he’d be distracted. Scraps falling off the table and stuff like that.
DFSA: What are some other Boston Terrier specific traits that you’ve seen in your dogs?
Ron: They’re very human. They have very human personalities. They’re very expressive facially and they also … and this is pretty similar to every dog I’ve owned, different breeds, but they take on the personality traits and habits of their owners. So the schedule of relaxation and laziness they get accustomed to. They also, at least ours did, refuse to sleep anywhere else but the foot of our bed. And so we’re up all night hearing the howling if we didn’t let Moses into our bed as well.
Ron: Their physical size, they’re very protective. Not aggressive or anything, but just they think that they own the house and they own their owners, and they’re also extremely good with children. Very good with children.
DFSA: So it sounds like Jonah has grown up always having a dog in the house?
Ron: Yeah. And he’s an only child. So Bo and Moses had been sort of like brothers to him.
DFSA: Did you always have a dog growing up?
Ron: Yes. In fact, my first dog that I really bonded with was a Spitz and we had her for 19 years.
DFSA: Oh, wow.
Ron: In fact, I remember going away for college and coming back after graduation and she was essentially blind but still remembered. Anyway, we hung out for a little while before she passed away after I came back from college.
DFSA: Yeah. I had a dog for about that long when I was growing up too. It’s pretty amazing how they become a family member and become such a big part of your growing up.
DFSA: Are there any other ways that you’ve seen animal care change specifically during your term as mayor? Change in animal care and animal welfare in our city? I know you touched a little bit on it.
Ron: Yeah, I mean I think we’ve been much more … I hate to use the word, but it’s probably the best word, is aggressive with pet responsibility policies. With spay and neuter and funding of organizations that assist with those efforts. In addition, leash outdoor exposure laws to require pet owners to be more humane in the way they treat animals. We just updated a chapter of the city code to raise the standards for care for animals that are left outside.
DFSA: What experience of the city do you want for dogs and dog owners?
Ron: I would say I would want people, regardless of whether they own a pet in San Antonio, to know that San Antonio respects and cares for the welfare of animals and expects as much from people who own animals that animal care is an incredibly important facet of a civilized society and we take it seriously. And that we also value the presence of pet owners and want to hear their voices as we build infrastructure and make policies that we can make their experiences a better one, or make their experiences better, improve their quality of life together.
DFSA: Yeah, I definitely see that. I think our city is growing so rapidly and that’s a big thing people look for in a city that they want to move to if they’re pet owners, ‘what is the quality of life for animals and exactly the infrastructure and policies in place?’ What do you think would make San Antonio more dog-friendly, in your eyes?
Ron: I think, again, reaching all corners of our community with responsible pet ownership, education, decreasing the stray population and finally getting to a no-kill status, actual no-kill status as a city. I think there’s a humane way of getting to no-kill status and dealing with your stray population. And that requires a strong community partnership on what animal welfare means to a community. I know it’s impossible, we always see bad actors, but I would want to never see another incident of animal abuse on TV or the news again. It’s outrageous and serves to warn us that our work isn’t done.
DFSA: Yeah. Are there any organizations, pet organizations in town or efforts that really pull at your heartstrings?
Ron: Yeah. I mean, really, they all do. The Animal Defense League and The Humane Society are obviously world-class, well-respected organizations, but I’ve grown really close with a couple of organizations because I have known people there, and I am one of them. But SpaySA as well as San Antonio Pets Alive! has done incredible work. And I think smaller organizations like that punch above their weight and don’t get as much credit as they deserve.
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