Friends, family remember Carlos Sousa

  By Nick Smith

SAN JOSE, CA (KGO) -- The two young men injured by the tiger are expected to be released from the hospital sometime on Thursday.

Their physical wounds will heal quick enough, but they're going to have a tough time dealing with what they saw happen to their friend.

"We were just like why? Why us? Why our friend? Just like out of nowhere like yesterday that we were hanging out with them and all of a sudden when we hear that we're like 'what'? I didn't believe it," said the victim's friend Kayana Alvarado.

And that's when Kaylee and Kayana decided to post a dedication to Carlos on their MySpace page. On it they've been able to field questions from friends.

"This is him right here, it has a picture of the tiger and it tells about what happened right here," said Kalee Thompson.

They also have pictures of Paul, the 19-year-old and his 23-year-old brother who also fell victim to the 300-pound tiger. They are recovering from their injuries in a San Francisco hospital.

Earlier I spoke with Carlos' parents who hold tight to pictures and share stories about their son and his popularity with girls.

"We could see that he was really happy. Everyday he was like mom I got a new number look," said the victim's mother.

"My dad use to tell me all kinds of stories of his past. How he met my mom and all of that, and I didn't have that opportunity to do that. I miss my dad very much, but I'm going to miss my son a lot more, because he's all I have, he's all I got and there is nothing in this world going to bring him back," said Carlos Sousa Sr.

Carlos' family gathered at the San Jose home of his mother. His father tells ABC7 News that he is pursuing his legal options. In the meantime, he is left with the heart-wrenching task of burying his son.

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