Please help. Our 23m old son was viscously mauled

Hello friends,

On 2/22/22 our precious 23-month-old baby boy was viciously mauled by a neighbor’s loose pitbull that had broken its chain while the owner was away on the road for work.

Our son was outside playing in our front yard with a water table and hose on one of the rare warm February afternoons. My husband was watching and playing with him while I was away at a dentist's appointment.

On my way home, I received one of the most horrific calls from my husband. The memories of my baby’s screams and the utter helplessness I felt will stay with me forever.

The above picture of my son was taken mere moments before the attack. My son never saw the dog coming; it happened that quickly. The pitbull charged, knocked him to the ground, locked his jaw on our baby's thigh and refused to let go. My husband sustained injuries to both his hands and foot fighting the dog away. Our amazing neighbor, Curtis, an ex-marine, who was with them at the time, assisted in subduing the animal, yet even with two large men, they had trouble and had to both fight for my son’s life. While Curtis had the dog in a headlock, my husband ran my bleeding son towards our house. The dog escaped Curtis and again attacked my husband while he held my son. The dog tried to rip my hurt baby from his father’s arms.

My husband kicked at the dog and managed to deter it. He couldn’t even open the doorknob because of the blood all over his hands.

The frenzied dog then proceeded to run down the road and tried to attack another woman who was walking with her child.

Curtis had already called for help and luckily Animal Control was nearby and was there within moments. They proceeded to catch the dog before any harm came to the other woman and her child.

My husband, a first responder himself, rushed our bleeding son into our home and provided emergency care until an ambulance arrived.

They were rushed by ambulance to the nearest hospital where my son did not receive medical care for almost 4 hours. He was given a triage room and a quick X-ray but then was practically forgotten. He was in terrible pain and terrified, but the staff could not take the time to give him any pain medicine or antibiotics. Angry and tired, we gathered up our crying son and had to drive an hour and a half in our car to a different hospital that could provide better care.

My son was rushed into the ER and shortly after went in for surgery, loaded with antibiotics to prevent infection from setting in. A drain tube was inserted into his leg to allow it to drain and his wounds were closed. At this point, it was early the following day and my husband was also in pain from his injuries and could hardly walk on his foot. (He was more concerned with our son and didn’t initially seek help.)

The staff at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville NC took great care of us on the worst day of our lives and even saw to my husband’s injuries. Thanks to the bravery of my husband and our neighbor, the quick response from Animal Control and Onslow EMS and the wonderful staff at Vidant Children’s Hospital, our son has survived this horrific attack. We will be forever grateful.

After speaking with a lawyer, we were told that since the dog’s owner does not have insurance, we cannot receive any help monetarily. (How unjust is our law system that your child can be mauled by someone else’s dog on your own property and yet you fall responsible for the medical debt because of their irresponsibility?)

Guilt-ridden and worried for our financial future as a one-income household, my husband is working himself sick with overtime at 90+ hours a week with both day and night shifts. He’s trying his best to provide for us and the incoming medical bills at his own expense and health.

We are so lucky to have our son alive, yet there will still be a long road ahead of us. Any help monetarily we receive will be a blessing that we will be eternally grateful for.

Thank you so much for helping our son and family recover. Please hug your loved ones and take care. And if you see a dog that you don't know, don't allow it to come anywhere near you or your family!