His owner, 29-year-old Juan Alejandro Mendoila, was arrested and charged with cruelty to a non-livestock animal.
The dog, named Tiger, underwent emergency surgery on Wednesday morning. Animal Care Services and San Antonio police at first reported the dog was a pit bull but later said it is actually a boxer mix.
Police said they found the dog covered in his own blood (whimpering and bleeding to death) when they responded to a report of animal abuse on Tuesday night at apartment complex in the 2600 block of NE Loop 410.
Officers said there was a substantial amount of blood on the sidewalk near a dumpster, and followed a trail of blood to Mendoila's apartment.
According to a police report, Mendoila was holding a sheathed machete and admitted he was disciplining his dog for chewing up a set of earphones. He told officers that he "spanked" the dog several times and then panicked when he saw how much the dog was bleeding.
Police later identified the sheathed object as a large survival knife with a serrated blade.
The dog was rushed to an emergency animal clinic before he was taken to Animal Care Services.
Workers at the city's animal shelter sent out a press release and photo of the dog in surgery on Wednesday morning. He died shortly after.
(KENS - Jan 9, 2013)
