BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — A 13-year-old mauled by pit bulls Thursday afternoon is expected to survive.
Bexar County deputies said they found the boy in his home with at least 50 puncture wounds all over his body. The attack happened in a home off Escalante Run in the Canyon Crest neighborhood off Evans Road, and has reignited conversation among local animal rescues about pet owner responsibility.
KENS 5 spoke with neighbors Friday who told us they've seen the dogs at this home before, but the animals never displayed any aggression.
Investigators say the seven dogs in their custody belonged to the homeowners; as of August 7, three had been euthanized and the four others in the process of being returned to their owners after it was determined they weren't involved in the attack.
"The young man had chunks of flesh missing from his back, from his face," said Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar. "Certainly a savage attack no matter how you look at it."
Salazar said the homeowner surrendered two of the dogs. The other four are under a 10-day observation undergoing tests to see if they were involved in the attack.
"I've never heard of anything crazy like that," a neighbor told us.
As of Friday afternoon, Bexar County deputies say the teenager is in stable condition.
Following the deadly dog attack in February on the southwest side off Depla, nonprofit Alamo City Pit Bull Rescue doubled down on their education outreach. They shared even more resources at events across the city and on their social media pages.
"It's very easy, especially in an emotionally charged situation, to focus on the dog as being the problem without focusing on anything we could have done to prevent that from happening, or to prevent it from happening in the future," said Izzy Norwood, president of Alamo City Pit Bull Rescue.
When KENS 5 investigated the deadly dog attack from February, Animal Care Services officials told us the dogs who were euthanized had at least three prior bite reports. Under state law, dogs are still considered property, which is part of the reason why the dogs were returned to owner Christian Moreno.
Alamo City Pit Bull Rescue is a bully breed, foster-based rescue that helps dog owners learn how to raise certain dogs, like pit bulls, to be successful.
Their mentality doesn't judge dogs by their breed. Instead, they see all dogs as individuals.
"The biggest reason we see people come to us with bites or anything like that is because they're not setting boundaries between kids and dogs or between dogs and food and resources," said Norwood. "Very simple things that, when it boils down to it, it's a lot of human error involved."
To help prospective dog owners learn more about caring for breeds like pit bulls, and to help clear misinformation or stereotypes surrounding the dogs, Alamo City Pit Bull Rescue offers babysitting opportunities. People can try a weekend or week-long commitment to begin their journey as a pet owner.
Norwood says if we start with small changes like spaying or neutering ACS animals and enforcing animal cruelty laws, it could improve a dire situation.
"This neglect and abuse and cycle of just treating dogs like they're disposable is what also prompts these horrible responses to people like backyard breeding and creating these litters just for money, just for a buck," said Norwood.
Salazar says he's still trying to determine whether charges will be filed in this case.
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