SAN ANTONIO — When Diana Vásquez woke up in the middle of the night in late August, she was greeted by terrifying news at the door.
“Is he dying? Is he dying right now? Is he already dead?” Vásquez said.
Those were the thoughts going through Vásquez's head when she learned her father, Max De Los Santos, was attacked by their San Antonio neighbor's pit bull and German shepard.
“So the two dogs are still in the street, I can see their bloody mouths are barking at me in the streets,” Vásquez said with tears pouring down her face.
De Los Santos, with the help of their other neighbors, survived the attack and is still in the hospital. Vásquez showed Spectrum News 1 the gruesome photos of the attack’s aftermath.
“The lower leg, bitten ear, gash on the arm. It’s horrifying, it’s disgusting. I had these images in my head that night, the very next night to sleep,” Vásquez said.
His right leg was amputated on Aug. 30.
Earlier this year, an 81-year-old man was killed by two dogs in a separate incident. The owners of those dogs were recently indicted, which includes charges of causing death and injury to the elderly, an issue Shannon Sims, San Antonio Animal Cares director, addressed at City Council.
“Over a three-year phased approach, ACS will be growing our enforcement team to respond to 100% of these public safety calls,” Sims said at recent council meeting.
They are also also pushing to increase its budget this upcoming fiscal year by 26%. Their goal is to have more ACS officers on the streets to be more responsive to the calls. Right now, they are only responding to 44% of their critical calls.
Across the state, lawmakers have taken action to try to hold owners of dangerous dogs accountable. A San Antonio state representative pushed for a dangerous dog bill that would create harsher penalties for dangerous dog owners and give power to ACS to investigate without an affidavit, but that was vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott this past June.
“Who wants to wait for that? Who wants to be the next victim? Who wants to see their loved ones with their ear being pulled off?” Beatrice De Los Santos, wife of Max De Los Santos, said to her daughter in the dining room.
Max De Los Santos, who loves to travel with his family, had plans to take his wife to Italy this year, but all this family is concerned about is the safety of their community.
“We need to feel responsible for what happens to anyone in our community, when you can report something without fear of retaliation because you are doing it for the benefit and safety of everyone,” Vásquez said.
“People need to act now,” Vásquez said.
If the budget is approved on Sept. 14, ACS projects their critical call response will increase to 64%. Vásquez and Beatrice De Los Santos say that something has to change.