FLORIDA -- Travis Moore is an 8-year-old hero.
A month ago, Travis was the only thing to stand between his younger brother, Nick Moore, his cousin and four attacking pit bulls.
He now wears the scars of his heroic act on his face.
A month ago, Travis was the only thing to stand between his younger brother, Nick Moore, his cousin and four attacking pit bulls.
He now wears the scars of his heroic act on his face.
“Nick is about half Travis’ size,” said father Marvin Moore in an interview last week in their Panama City home. “Nick probably wouldn’t be here right now if the dogs would have got him.”
Lynn Haven Police received a call about a dog bite at 1418 Missouri Ave. just before 5:30 p.m. on March 10.
Travis and Nick had been taken by their aunt, Stephanie Schaefer, to a friend’s birthday party. The boys were outside playing “I spy” when the owner of the pit bulls let the dogs out and they attacked, according to Moore.
“I didn’t even get a chance to run,” said Travis.
The second Travis saw the dogs he yelled for his brother and cousin to get up the nearest tree.
“He got between the dogs and his brother,” said Moore. “Most kids would have bolted. He stayed to protect his brother.”
When Travis was brought to Bay Medical Center, he had lacerations on his leg and ear. He also suffered from a facial wound that was much worse than the other injuries. The left side of the boy’s face had been ripped to the point of it being able to be opened like a book, according to Adil Ceydeli his surgeon.
Travis stayed at Bay Medical for three days. He then spent two and a half weeks healing before returning to school.
When he got home, Travis’ dog, Mikey, a 1-year-old mixed breed bulldog, was there to greet him.
“He walked in the house and Mikey ran up to him and they started playing like they’d never been apart,” said Moore.
Travis does not have a stigma, with his dog anyway.
“Mikey just wants to lick you to death,” he said.
Not everything was fine once Travis returned home. In the first week he would wake in the night screaming “Daddy, daddy, they got me,” according to Moore. But the nightmares receded over time and Travis started counseling sessions Tuesday with the Children Home’s Society.
Travis still has facial nerve damage. His eye and lip droop and he can produce only half a smile.
“What he needs is a peripheral nerve injury specialist, which are available only in certain centers in the country,” said Ceydeli. “He is going to require significant nerve repair, maybe a nerve graft.”
Ceydeli referred Travis to the University of Alabama Birmingham for the surgery.
However, Florida Medicaid will not pay UAB to perform the surgery, so Moore will have to pay for it out of pocket. He has set up a benefit account in Travis’ name. Donations can be made at any Hancock Bank. He is also hosting a fish fry on May 19 at the Panama City Marina to raise funds for the surgery.
In most cases where someone is bitten, especially a child, the dog is ruled dangerous and impounded. If the owner wants to keep the dog, a hearing is required to decide the animal’s fate.
In this case, the owner gave the dogs up to Animal Control where they were put down..
Travis cried when he heard the fate of the dogs.
“They didn’t know what they were doing,” he said.
(News Herald - April 15, 2012)
