Last August, he was at a friend’s house when he and a friend were playing catch with the dog, which had, until that day, been friendly to the kids, Logan’s mother Raphaele explained.
“There was no warning sign,” she said.
Suddenly, the dog started growling and lunged at the boy’s face. He was then rushed to the hospital where he received more than 100 stitches around his face and scalp.
Logan doesn’t remember much about that day other than his ride in the ambulance and the kindness of the surgeon who treated him. As they sat with Logan at the hospital, his parents, Kristian and Raphaele, and younger sister, Ava, were all stunned and by what happened as they looked at the jagged stitches along the top of his forehead that resembled a lightning bolt.
“I think we were all trying to deal with it,” said the mother.
‘Emotional’ scars
Aside from the physical injury, the incident was difficult for Logan in other ways during the weeks after the attack. It took place one week before he started the third grade at a new school, Northside Elementary in Fairport.
“At first, our focus was dealing with the immediacy of what happened,” said mother, Raphaele. “As the scars started healing, it became more of the emotional aspect.”
On the first day of school, he stood in front of the mirror at home trying to conceal his scars, and even grew bangs to help cover them. The pain made it difficult for him sleep for the weeks following the attack, and Logan spent the nights with his parents to help with nightmares. He still goes to counseling and laser therapy for his facial scars.
Nevertheless, things have slowly gotten better for the Kuhns.
“I think we’re closer as a family now,” said father, Kristian.
But how long until Logan’s bad dreams and fear of big dogs disappears completely? Trauma expert Hilda Saltos, who works as a clinical supervisor at the Family Trauma Intervention Program at Rochester SPCC, said one-time events are different from ongoing trauma when it comes to making a full emotional recovery.
“One factor is the frequency of the event,” said Saltos. “Victims sometimes have a better chance of recovery from that as opposed to something like sexual abuse that happened repeatedly. Often, this chance of recovery is better.”
With lots of immediate family support, the road to healing is not so far ahead.
“We knew he was going to be OK when he started bugging his sister again,” said Raphaele.
Catching the signs early
This and other stories of animal-related violence beg the question: Who is to blame?
The dog that attacked Logan was one that was being considered for adoption. It had only been with the prospective owners for one day before the incident, and after they saw what happened, it was taken away and put to sleep.
In many ways, it’s a sad situation that dog experts say is preventable.
Rebecca Lohnes is the behavior and training manager at Lollypop Farm, where dogs are tested for behavioral problems before they are put up for adoption. Most dogs have certain things that set them off, called aggression triggers.
These can lead to behaviors like growling or nipping at someone who reaches for their toy or food bowl to lashing out when they are touched in a certain spot. When staff members test the animals on the degree of their aggression they fully disclose these triggers to new owners, especially parents.
“One thing that we can’t test for at Lollypop is how they react to kids,” said Lohnes. She added that when it comes to finding the right pet for your family, it’s important to note the way they interact with the youngest family members.
“We always tell parents that you want to look for a dog who, when they come to meet you for the first time, goes right to your kids,” she said. “If (the dog) is going to be aggressive, you’re going to notice it a lot earlier than one who’s really social.”
Bouncing back
Since the accident, Logan’s family has noticed several changes in him. For one thing, he has had no trouble making friends at his new school. Although he had to sit out of recess and gym class for weeks for safety reasons, he eventually started playing in the Eastside basketball league.
“I made it just in time for basketball when I got the OK from the doctor,” said Logan.
Thanks to his coach, Tom Hendricks, the family said the sport has helped him move past his pain and bond with his peers. In January, Logan was even recognized at a Rochester Razorsharks game, where he got a special birthday party with the team and the opportunity to meet his favorite players.
As things continue to improve, Logan said it’s been two months since his last nightmare. For a while, he couldn’t get near large dogs for fear of being attacked, but he’s slowly growing more confident — the family even owns two small dogs who have helped comfort him throughout the experience.
In perhaps the biggest step forward, he cut his hair.
“I was happy when he cut his hair because at first, it was all about hiding,” said his mother.
(Fairport ER Post - Feb 8, 2012)
