A child horrifically mauled by a pit bull terrier is now "thriving" after extensive reconstructive surgery - and is even interacting with dogs again. Jose Joel "JJ" Rodriguez was only 22-months-old when he was brutally attacked by the neighbour's pit bull while playing in his front yard.
JJ was left in a critical condition after the attack with his face ripped apart, his skull exposed and his jaw torn apart. 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. The attack on JJ happened in February last year when was playing with his siblings outside the family home.
The neighbour's dogs - who were allegedly off their leads - 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 face was completely ripped apart. His skull was exposed. His jaw was torn apart and his teeth were lost."
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. Jose, 33, said: "His recovery was a difficult one. He had his face reconstructed.
"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.
"Literally half his face has been ripped off. He is by all means a true miracle."
JJ has undergone 12 surgeries in fourteen months and the 13th is coming soon. 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." He added: "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."
