A man is still healing months after he was mauled by a dog while trying to protect his nieces.
Ivania Perez wants justice for her nephew, Salvador Martinez.
"It was horrible. It was horrible," she said. "Somebody has to be responsible for this."
Martinez was visiting his family in North Miami Beach on July 18 when he was viciously attacked by two bulldogs.
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The bite marks are still healing on his head, feet, arms and legs.
"See a lot of blood, and yelling and screaming. And I say, call the police, call the ambulance. What’s happening? What’s happening?" Perez recalled.
Perez says Martinez went outside with his two nieces Hannah and Grace to help them walk their Shih Tzu.
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Minutes later, she says she heard chaos.
"I see my little one run into the house, screaming and panicking," she said. "I start to hear a lot of noise. A lot of barking. People screaming."
Her neighbor’s dogs were about to attack their Shih Tzu, who was being held by her daughter.
Martinez jumped in to protect her and was bitten.
When Perez came outside, he was on the ground, bloody and bitten.
"Horrendous. Horrendous," Perez recalled.
Martinez is now left with about $50,000 in medical bills.
When Perez went to confront the dogs' owner, she said he told her that he didn't have any money and lived month-to-month on government checks.
State law says owners are liable for any damage done by their dogs to a person or animal.
Perez says she’s grateful her nephew was there to protect her daughters.
"My girls would not have survived that dog attack. It was horrendous," she said.
The case is being investigated by animal control officials.
Along with his wounds, Martinez also suffers from severe headaches.
