'A pitbull ripped off my toddler's face, they scalped him in our garden'
A dad is calling for tighter restrictions around "dangerous" dog breeds, including the XL bully, after his toddler's face was "ripped off" by a pitbull.
JJ Rodriguez, now three years old, was playing outside in his front garden with his older sisters when the horrific attack took place. A neighbour's pitbull savaged the toddler on February 20, 2022, leaving him in a critical condition.
The attack ripped JJ's face apart, with his skull exposed and jaw torn apart. His injuries were so severe that a priest was called to his bedside. The tot had to stay in the Oklahoma Children's Hospital for three-and-a-half months and has undergone 12 surgeries since the attack - including extensive facial reconstruction.
JJ before the attack which nearly cost him his life (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)
JJ's parents were told his chances of surviving were extremely low (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)JJ's dad, 34-year-old Jose from Spencer, Oklahoma, believes owners of pit bulls and other "dangerous" dog breeds are "putting everyone at risk". The forklift operator said: "JJ was a dog lover - but these pit bulls scalped him - they took his nose, jaw and cheekbones off.
"People have tried to say it was our fault for allowing JJ to play around the dogs - but the reality is, when you own a pit bull, you're putting everyone around you at risk."
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The devastating incident happened when Jose and his wife, Cassandra, 33, let their seven children play outside. Cassandra was watching them from the front door as they happily played with teddy bears and sat by some flower beds as Jose got ready for work.
After Jose got out of the shower he spoke to Cassandra, She picked up their youngest child, Olivia, who was then five months old, and took her inside for "a minute".
But that minute would change everything. In the time it took for Cassandra to turn her back on the children, the parents heard JJ begin to scream. They rushed outside to find three pit bulls dragging their son along.
JJ post-surgery where he had a tracheostomy (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)
JJ has a long journey of recovery and rehabilitation ahead of him (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)"I started screaming 'no' and I just ran towards the dogs," recalled Jose. "I was fighting with them - trying to physically put myself between them and JJ.
"I got injured too - but it was like nothing compared to what happened to him. Those dogs did not want to stop - it was like a pack mentality. They wanted to kill my son."
After a struggle that lasted just 30 seconds but left serious damage between Jose, JJ and the dogs, Jose saw his opportunity. The "leader" opened its mouth, and Jose threw his arm in there, giving JJ time to escape.
They ran off but JJ was left with horrific, life-threatening injuries. His older sister Khloe, 13, dialled 911 as Joe tended to his son.
"I turned JJ around," Jose said. "I thought he was dead. But then, he started crying and I was filled with hope.
"I looked at his face, and there was just nothing there. I could see into his throat - and he was choking on his own blood.
"I'm usually such a highly-strung, stressed-out kind of guy. But I was extremely calm. I kept rubbing his back, telling him he was going to be OK."
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JJ spent more than three months in the hospital after the attack (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)
JJ's parents described him as an extremely confident young boy (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)The family followed the 911 operator's instructions, wrapping JJ's entire head up in an effort to keep his wounds clean. However, when firefighters, who were first to the scene, arrived, they immediately called for backup.
Jose recalled: "I heard the firefighter say 'oh f**k. This baby's dying.' We drove to the hospital, after the ambulance took him away. It was the longest ride of my life."
As soon as they were at the hospital, JJ was rushed to surgery. But the news for his parents wasn't good, they were warned he had a low chance of survival.
"The nurse told us about dog attacks on toddlers and how 70 per cent of the time, they're fatal," said Jose. "And we knew JJ had been attacked by multiple dogs. The surgeon even asked us if we'd like to call for a priest."
JJ spent 16 hours in surgery that day. Surgeons carried out a tracheostomy, inserted a feeding tube and the toddler had "his face stitched back together".
Staff told JJ's parents he was the 35th dog bite case they'd seen that year, and it was only Februrary (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)
JJ underwent a gruelling initial 16-hour surgery but faces countless more in his life (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)Jose said JJ became terrified of dogs after the attack to the point where he even struggled with dogs barking on the cartoon Paw Patrol. Jose said: "A psychologist came in and said he now has a fear of dogs which will be detrimental to his life.
"We had to make the difficult decision to let him try exposure therapy - which involved working with a therapy dog. It's been very effective - and JJ is now fine with dogs, for the most part."
The three-year-old is still in recovery with surgeons predicting he'll need another 30 to 40 operations in his lifetime. JJ continues to be treated with recreational, exposure and occupational therapy and has had to learn to walk, talk, sleep and eat all over again from scratch.
"JJ is extremely confident - in fact, he radiates confidence - he has a very loud and charming personality," said Jose. "He agrees with people when they say he's a hero - and he's obsessed with the idea of becoming a policeman when he grows up. He's goofy, he's silly, he loves to prank people - and he's intelligent too."
JJ has been taking part in exposure therapy with trained therapy dogs to help increase his confidence around them (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)
Cassandra, 33, with JJ post-surgery (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)As well as helping their son on his recovery journey, Jose and Cassandra are fighting for more legislation surrounding dangerous dogs. They believe the current laws in Oklahoma are "archaic".
Jose said: "In the state of Oklahoma, dog bites are very outdated. We have this thing called the 'One BIte' law - in which country dogs are allowed one free bite.
"I didn't know any of this until it happened to my son. The jaw-dropping thing is - nurses told us he was the 35th dog bite case they'd seen so far that year. It was February."
Since the UK government announced plans to ban the XL bully by the end of the year, Jose said his family's activism has been partially blamed by social media users - despite being US-based. He explained: "We got a tonne of hate as soon as the XL bully ban was announced.
"We've had to block hundreds of people over the last five days along. They say JJ's story makes these breeds 'look bad' - but we need to be realistic.
"It's clear as day that all dogs have inherent genetic traits. Golden Retrievers retrieve, right? So why is it that when it comes to breeds like pitbulls and bullies, it's suddenly about how they're raised?
"We have to address the main issue. I want people to be cautious around all dangerous breeds. Of course, all dogs attack - but these seem to be the problem children."
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