SAN ANTONIO — Danielle Henderson, 34, was sentenced to six years in prison for her role in a 2023 dog attack that left a man with two amputated legs. She will also need to pay restitution.
In August 2023, police say a German Shepherd and a pit bull belonging to Henderson viciously attacked Max de Los Santos, 76 at the time, leaving him with serious wounds to his neck, arm, and leg.
Doctors did their best to help him but ended up having to amputate both of his legs.
It was a day of emotional testimony as the De Los Santos family got to speak directly to Henderson about how this has changed their lives.
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Beatrice De Los Santos, Max’s wife of 30 years, says she first learned of the attack while she was in Seguin making funeral plans for another loved one. She says her daughter called her, hysterically crying, saying that something horrible happened.
When Beatrice got there, she said the doctors would not show her Max’s legs.
“My husband is a miracle,” she told the courtroom. “Little did I know the extent of [the] damage.”
She says there were huge costs associated with her husband’s hospital stays. The couple had insurance but exhausted a lot of those resources due to the magnitude of injuries and length of the necessary treatment. She says she stopped counting at 12 surgeries.
“Every day was excruciating. Every day was a new challenge,” Beatrice said.
When Danielle Henderson took the stand, she said there was only one instance where she saw aggression from one of her dogs.
She says she was advised to not speak to the De Los Santos family as this case and others proceed but was given an opportunity to address them today.
“I want to apologize because I didn’t raise my animals to be that way,” Henderson told the family, through tears. “I just really want to say how sorry I am to you and your wife.”
Henderson says she did not recall getting a letter from the city regarding her dogs being aggressive but admitted that they got out three times the day of the attack. The third time was when they escaped near the front of the house and attacked Mr. De Los Santos.
Henderson’s attorneys asked the judge to consider her four children as he made his decision, saying the public safety issue has been resolved because the dogs have been euthanized and Henderson has moved.
The District Attorney’s Office said this was about negligence and about what the De Los Santos family now has to live with forever.
The De Los Santos family delivered victim impact statements after the judge made his decision, calling for compassion and accountability.
Max De Los Santos wrote a powerful letter, read aloud to Henderson and to the courtroom.
For the 2023 attack, Henderson was cited for two animal nuisance offenses, one for each dog involved.
During our investigation, we found that someone called the city’s 311 line to report these animals a day before the attack took place.
Both dogs involved in this attack have been euthanized.
This attack came a few months after 81-year-old Ramon Najera was mauled to death on San Antonio’s Southwest side.
Those dog owners, Abilene Schnieder and Christian Moreno, were sentenced to 15 and 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to their charges.
Schnieder recently lost an appeal for that sentence.
The attacks put a spotlight on the issue of dangerous dogs—and irresponsible owners—in the city.
De Los Santos was present the day District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito introduced new punishments and guidelines for owners whose dogs repeatedly bite people, protections for people seeking to submit dangerous dog affidavits, and more.
Those changes were approved late last year.
The state legislature is now mulling stricter penalties for dog attacks and an anonymous affidavit process for people to report potentially dangerous dogs.
You can keep up with those bills here.
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