Mom of boy mauled by pit bulls speaks out

HOUSTON Mario Lopez will undergo a fourth surgery on Friday at Memorial Hermann Hospital. The 10-year-old is alert and his mother says he remembers practically every detail about that frightening dog attack.

The picture of Mario Lopez in his football uniform is a stark contrast to the image of the boy wrapped in hospital bandages after two neighborhood pit bull mixes got loose and viciously attacked him last week. The boy from Crosby is no stranger to pit bulls -- he has two of his own.

"He's bored. He's very depressed, but he's doing a lot better and I keep telling him he will get back to normal," said his mother DeAnn Lopez.

The bites all over his body are so bad, Lopez isn't convinced her son will ever play football again.

"He's got huge chunks missing all over his arms and legs," she said.

Doctors at Memorial Hermann Hospital have operated on Mario three times and managed to reattach his ear. His mother calls them miracle workers.

"Everything is really healing well. They took their time with that and his head looks really good," she said.

The two dogs dug their way out from a newly constructed fenced-in enclosure and attacked Mario as he rode his bicycle through the neighborhood. The owners are facing criminal charges for failing to properly secure their pets.

DeAnn says her son recalls almost everything about the incident. He knows two women saved his life by pulling the dogs off of him, but he can't remember what they look like. She and her son are eternally grateful.

"I mean, I'll be there for them the rest of their lives... for what they've done," she said.

She plans to personally thank those two neighbors.

The two dogs who attacked Mario remain under quarantine until Sunday night. They can be returned back to the owners after that unless a court order is issued. At this point, it's unclear if the owners plan to reclaim them.