Doctors are set to bring Keiron, two, out of coma

8:50am Saturday 9th June 2012 in News By Scott D'Arcy

Keiron Guess is recovering and doctors hope to bring him out of his coma Keiron Guess is recovering and doctors hope to bring him out of his coma

LITTLE battler Keiron Guess could today set eyes on his parents for the first time since he was mauled by a crazed dog.

The two-year-old has been in an induced coma at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children since undergoing 10 hours of surgery to reconstruct his face following the horrific attack by a Staffordshire Bull terrier-type dog in a neighbour’s garden on Sunday.

Police were called and after a search seized the dog, which was later destroyed, while the tot, whose left ear and nose were severed in the attack, was airlifted to hospital.

But after a procedure yesterday afternoon doctors decided they will try to bring him out of the coma and see if he can breathe on his own, his grandad Shaun Leonard said.

Keiron’s parents Anthony, 23, and pregnant Stacey, 22, have been by his bedside throughout and are said to be buoyed by the news of his recovery.

Shaun said: “The swelling has gone down a lot around his eye. It was really, really puffy and they think there is some blood behind it.

“I think they are going to try and wake him up. They said as soon as they do he is going to start feeling pain but they will let him see his mum and dad and then put him back in a coma.

“He is on the mend and everyone is a bit more relieved. His mum and dad have been up there all the time and they need a break really.”

Shaun, who saw Keiron just moments after the attack, said even doctors were surprised at the extent of the toddler’s injuries.

He said: “I’ve never seen anything like it before and even the surgeon who has been doing it for 30 years said that was the worst facial injuries he has ever had to deal with.

“We were told he will have to go to Liverpool to have his ear reattached too but that won’t be for a few months.”

The community has rallied around the family since the incident with several local businesses raising money for them.

The Fox and Hounds pub are planning several events, while the Boundary House pub, just a few streets from where the incident took place, have collected around £200 so far and the Post Office is also collecting money.

Boundary House landlord Dave Howells said: “It was a total shock to hear what happened and we are all parents so it was instinctive to want to do something.

“We are doing it with the Fox and Hounds and the Post Office too and it’s a community thing.”

Comments(17)

TinkeyWinkey says...
11:42am Sat 9 Jun 12

Speedy recovery to a brave little soldier.

Heart goes out to his family and shame on the dog owner who's story is printed in one of the nationals today and the comments made.

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Jim Royle says...
1:05pm Sat 9 Jun 12

How on earth was the poor toddler able to wander into the dog's garden in the first place? Everything has about the so called 'crazed' dog but it was in its garden. The 2 year old child somehow managed to get in there. Why was the child not attended to until his screams were heard? What a dreadful incident but the blame doesn't look to be solely the dogs and its owners.

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dglaholm says...
4:10pm Sat 9 Jun 12

The garden should have been secure.....The fault lies with the owner and when the law is changed people will make the gardens secure or else....

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tfidean says...
7:41pm Sat 9 Jun 12

Agree with the last two post's for sure...obviously.

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boo2u says...
10:15am Sun 10 Jun 12

I think having a dog of this kind as a guard dog is a dangerous, but also if nobody can see how the boy got in then the garden is obviously secure, the owners clearly did what they should to keep the dog in, ?I dont see why the boy was allowed to go into the garden in the first place.I have four children and my youngest would run a mile if I let them but I dont let them out of the garden unattended , perhaps though he climbed a fence or wall he had never climbed before??
I do hope he recovers soon and can feel for the parents whatever happened to lead to this dreadfull accident.

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female resident says...
11:47am Sun 10 Jun 12

I suspect most of us have had our children get into situations we regret, whether through misjudgement or a turned back. The child was being a child and the dog was being a dog. A situation which ended horribly for both the boy and the dog. My prayers go to the little boy and his family, may they get the support they need, especially with a new baby on the way.

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RichardR1 says...
10:25am Mon 11 Jun 12

A tragic event with unanswered questions.

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LennyRules says...
12:08pm Mon 11 Jun 12

This is not in anyway the childs or his parents fault, or even the dogs fault. Look at the owner, and his track record. Surely young children should be able to wander where they like (within reason) without fear of being ripped apart by a drug dealers dog.

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RichardR1 says...
12:26pm Mon 11 Jun 12

LennyRules, sadly the law does not agree with you. The police according to reports were satisfied the dog was in it's own garden, which was secure.

As for a child of two being able 'to wander', I doubt many would agree with you.

We have seen unattended babies drown in garden pools. They have little fear which is why they need supervision 24/7 practically.

As I said this is a sad tragic event with unanswered questions.

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vwlover says...
5:19pm Mon 11 Jun 12

The dog was a pitbull, nothing like a staffy at all. The dog was vicious full stop. I know adults who were scared of it. It had been trained to defend its garden so when anyone even walked past the garden the dog would go mad. While I agree that the parent should have been keeping a closer eye, that dog did as it had been trained to do. It also was an unregistered pitbull making the dog illegal.

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RichardR1 says...
7:46am Tue 12 Jun 12

vwlover, not being a breed expert I have no idea. The previous articles however have stated that a breed expert determined it wasn't a pitbull when it attacked the police last year.

As for your other comments about it being trained to be vicious, you may well be right.

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PaulD says...
3:47pm Tue 12 Jun 12

Guard dog or not, if it is illegal to injure a burglar on your premises (who is not physically threatening you), then surely it must be illegal for a trained animal to injure a defenceless 2-year old child on your premises, regardless of why he/she was there.

What if the child was 6, 7, 8, 12 or 16 or an adult wanted to retrieve a ball from the garden without realising the dog was there? (Is there a back gate?) Would the result be any different? The fact that the child was not being properly looked after is irrelevant. People have a duty of care to the public, even on private property.

What if someone needed to enter the garden in an emergency? A paramedic? Transco? Southern electric? Fire Brigade? It had already bittern a policeman.

What if the fence between the garden and the neighbours or the alleyway had given way? Would the dog stop at the boundary or would it charge on until it found someone to bite?

What was the dog 'guarding' anyway? It often seems to be those that have most to hide that have these types of dogs.

A dog like this is no different to setting a man-trap in a garden, and that would be illegal.

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EmmBee says...
4:39pm Tue 12 Jun 12

Change the dog in this argument to a deep pond. Is it now the neighbour's fault that a child drowns?

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RichardR1 says...
5:53pm Tue 12 Jun 12

EmmBee, a point I made earlier there was sadly one such case just 3 days ago, in the child's own garden.

PaulD the location of the carers is entirely relevant. As for older children or adults I think most would realise there was a serious risk, if the dog behaved previously as stated the neighbours would certainly have known.

However the time for recriminations is past, let's wish the child as speedy and hopefully as full a recovery as possible.

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MiffedofWilts says...
10:35pm Tue 12 Jun 12

vwlover - The dog was NOT a Pitbull, it was examined by a trained expert, 2 in fact, so unless you have any qualifications to identify dog breeds you should probably shut up, its a horrible tragedy, plain & simple!

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EmmBee says...
11:05am Wed 13 Jun 12

Richard, agreed - no-one is saying this isn't a shame, but it's the whole "someone else's fault" thing that irks me. It's McDonald's fault I got fat on burgers. It's the landlord's fault I got drunk & beat that other bloke up. etc etc

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RichardR1 says...
12:55pm Wed 13 Jun 12

EmmBee, I wouldn't disagree, we have seen several generations being taught it will always be someone else's fault.

Society has lost a basic human trait of personal responsibility not just for ourselves but those who look to us to protect them.

In short the blame someone else culture.

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