The family of a boy who was attacked by a pitbull have shared photos of his horrific injuries as the nine-year-old's older brother says he will "never be the same again".
Young Alejandro Mizsan was playing on a green area of the Old Forge Road estate in Enniscorthy, Wexford, on Sunday when he was attacked by the dog, around 4pm.
Alejandro’s face was ripped apart, with his bottom lip and each of his cheeks torn off, with extensive damage near his left eye.
He also suffered serious leg injuries in the attack.
The family has released pictures of Alejandro and given permission to use them, in a bid to show what damage such dogs can do.
The sustained attack by the unmuzzled pitbull - which was roaming the estate freely - was only interrupted when a heroic family, which is a neighbour of Alejandro’s, stopped as they drove by.
The mum and her two sons jumped out of the car to scare the dog away and they raised the alarm, calling 999.
After emergency services arrived at the scene, the child was brought to the local GAA grounds where the Irish Coast Guard’s Rescue 117 helicopter airlifted the boy to Crumlin Children’s Hospital in Dublin.
Alejandro underwent emergency surgery on Sunday evening before another one on Monday.
In an exclusive interview with the Irish Mirror, the boy’s older brother Raul, 21, revealed his family’s pain. He told us: “We’re devastated. We don’t have words to describe the feeling we have now.
"My little brother is only nine years old, the pitbull nearly killed him.
“The pitbull destroyed him. He will never be the same again. His face is in bits. It’s just terrible. My brother’s life is destroyed. He will not be a normal kid like he used to be ever again.
“We don’t know what to do or how to act, we’re just in shock. We just thank god that he’s still alive. My brother is a very strong boy and he survived.”
But describing his brother’s injuries, he added: “You can only see his nose and his eyes, the rest you cannot see anything.”
Raul also explained that medics at Crumlin Children’s Hospital were stunned that the boy survived the attack.
He said: “Even the doctors, when they saw my brother they said they had never seen anything like this before and they are surprised that he’s still alive.”
Raul said his brother will have many more surgeries as he recovers from the attack. He has recieved skin grafts to the face and an extensive amount of stitches.
Raul added: “Everybody loves my brother, he’s very popular there, our community, everybody loves him. He’s a very good kid to everyone, friendly.
“It’s a miracle that he is still alive. We truly believe only God can fix this. Nobody can bring my brother back again the same.”
The Mizsan family are originally from Romania. They have lived in Ireland for over ten years and in the new estate where the incident happened for about a year.
Raul explained that his mum and little sister are struggling.
He said: “My mum is very stressed. My sister is five, she is crying. She is not eating or drinking.”
Family friend and neighbour, Alfredo Barbu, yesterday said Alejandro had only called to his house 20 minutes before he was mauled by the dog, and said he would come back.
Following the incident on Sunday, the dog was put down.
But brother Raul said the same dog also targeted children just days before his brother was attacked, and doesn't understand why it was let out freely in the estate again.
He said: “My brother was just playing like every other kid. All the kids go out and play football or whatever. This is not our fault.
“It could be anyone’s kids. But not only did the dog attack my brother, he attacked another two kids a few days before and nobody said nothing.
“The dog was out in the estate. But it was a very dangerous dog. If an adult was attacked it would be the same situation as my brother.”
It is understood the dog owner has yet to be located by gardai following Sunday’s incident.
In a statement, a Garda spokesman said: “A child (male) received serious injuries after being allegedly attacked by a dog.
“The child was later airlifted to the CHI at Crumlin in Dublin where he is undergoing treatment for serious injuries. The dog has since been destroyed.”
In June, another pitbull cross attacked a small child in the south of the city.
Last year, a 12-year-old needed 150 stitches after his face was badly damaged in a dog attack.
The incident coincides with a major rise over the past five years.
Between 2016 and 2021, there have been over 1,700 attacks on people by dogs.
