Boy, 3, brutally mauled by pit bull now 'thriving' after remarkable recovery
A three-year-old boy savagely mauled by a pit bull is now "thriving" and playing with dogs again - despite nearly dying from the brutal attack.
Jose Joel "JJ" Rodriguez, from Oklahoma, US, was only 22-months-old when he was attacked by the neighbour's pit bull while playing in his front garden.
JJ was left in a critical condition after the attack, with extensive injuries to his face.
The tot had to stay in hospital for three-and-a-half months and has since had 12 surgeries - including extensive facial reconstruction.
One year on from the attack, JJ has made huge progress and a video shows him leading a therapy dog around a hospital ward.
Girl, 4, mauled to death in dog attack pictured as neighbours hear mum's screams
JJ is now back playing with dogs despite the horrendous attack (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)
He is now comfortable around dogs (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)The dog attack happened in February last year when JJ was playing with his siblings outside their family home.
The neighbour's dogs were allegedly off their leads - and one attacked JJ as there was no fence in between the adjoining yards.
Parents Jose and Cassandra Rodriguez were horrified at the attack as they previously warned the neighbour this would happen if they didn't control their pets.
Dad Jose, a forklift operator, said: "Baby JJ was playing outside with his siblings on a rare warm February day when he was viciously mauled by the neighbour's pit bull.
"His recovery was a difficult one. He had his face reconstructed."
JJ was taken to the hospital and had to stay there for three-and-a-half months with medical fees going into the millions, according to Jose.
JJ was mauled by a pit bull (Jose Rodriguez / SWNS)Jose, 33, said: "His initial surgery was 16 hours. They put in a tracheotomy and harvested two of his ribs to rebuild his face specifically his jaw, nose, cheekbones and to repair the orbital walls and floor of his eye.
"They did three skin grafts too to cover the wounds where he was scalped. One for what was left of his cheek.
"He is by all means a true miracle."
JJ has undergone 12 surgeries in fourteen months and the 13th is coming soon.
Dog shot dead by police after mauling girl, 4, to death in horror attack
Jose added: "He will need surgeries well into his early adulthood.
"There is no foreseeable end in sight and the number of surgeries cannot be predicted but will be upwards of 30 is what we know for sure."
After the horrific attack, JJ's parents didn't want him to live in fear for the rest of his life, so they made sure that part of his recovery included being around therapy dogs.
Jose said: "We worked daily with a team of therapists and psychiatrist and psychologists to ensure that JJ does not spend the rest of his life in fear.
"There is a dog on every street in America. So, we felt it was best to address this so he is not afraid.
"We let him go at his own pace and on his terms.
"Eventually, JJ started having exposure therapy with therapy dogs while hospitalized and it’s been extremely effective!"
The family knew that their dogs at home could cause a problem to JJ's recovery and decided that if the therapy dogs were an issue they would have to rehome their own.
Luckily, JJ overcame his fears and is now relatively comfortable around dogs.
However, due to the PTSD he suffers, encountering pit bull remains a huge trigger.
Jose said: "We did on two separate occasions encounter a pit bull and both times JJ started yelling and crying he was terrified.
"But there has also been an instance where he was just fine however we would rather not intentionally expose him or have him around that breed."
Since then JJ's recovery has seen him go from strength to strength against all odds.
Jose said: "JJ's doing well in fact he is thriving!
"He’s just as happy as he always was he does have some triggers and reactions so he has pretty bad PTSD and suffers from night terrors.
"But overall the kid is unstoppable.
"I called JJ the indestructible baby well before the attack now he’s just proven it and lived up to the name."
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