‘Please god save my baby:’ Toddler disfigured by neighbor’s dog, Oklahoma family says
J.J. Rodriguez and his siblings were playing outside in their neighborhood when the 1-year-old was mauled by at least one of a neighbor’s dogs, his Oklahoma family says.
Authorities were called to the neighbor’s home in Spencer at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20 and the toddler was found with “severe injuries,” according to the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office.
J.J. was taken to a hospital and a pit bull that attacked the child was seized, the sheriff’s office said.
“His face was completely ripped apart and his skull was exposed,” J.J.’s dad, José Rodriguez, wrote on a GoFundMe fundraising page. “His jaw was torn apart (and) teeth were lost.
“He’s currently in critical condition,” the post continued. “This is every parents worst nightmare I’m falling apart as I type this.”
J.J.’s mom, Cassandra Rodriguez, wrote in a Facebook post that her boy is expected to survive as doctors “were able to fix him up,” but at of 9 p.m. that evening he was “not completely out the woods yet.”
“Everyone’s telling us here that him making it is a true miracle,” she said. “They are so shocked and I really feel like he is pulling through so far because one he’s so strong and two all of your prayers.”
Photos of J.J. shared to Facebook show him resting on a hospital bed as he’s hooked up to various machines. His face is covered in wounds from the attack.
Grandmother Delfina Wright said J.J is unable to breathe on his own, according to KFOR.
“Please god save my baby,” Cassandra Rodriguez wrote. “I’ll give anything to keep my chulo don’t take him he’s my boy and we gotta watch a cocomelon marathon together still.”
The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office says police have responded to the neighbor’s home several times after reports of several pit bulls “running loose.”
“In Oklahoma, dog owners are required to have control of their pets,” officials said.
Less than two weeks before his son’s attack, José Rodriguez shared that the neighbor’s five pit bulls attacked one of their pets.
“It’s because of people like them that pit bulls have a bad rep,” he said at the time. “These dogs are vicious straight up!”
Spencer is a suburb of Oklahoma City.
This story was originally published February 21, 2022 at 7:38 AM with the headline "‘Please god save my baby:’ Toddler disfigured by neighbor’s dog, Oklahoma family says."