A dog that mauled a 4-year-old Phoenix boy has received thousands of pleas for mercy through a Facebook campaign ahead of a court hearing to decide his fate, the Associated Press reported.
Mickey, a pit bull that bit Kevin Vicente in the face, will have his fate decided by a municipal court judge at a March 25 hearing. The judge will rule whether Mickey should be euthanized.
Kevin received injuries that will require, according to doctors, months and possibly years of reconstructive surgeries.
According to the AP, since the Feb. 20 attack, Mickey has become the object of a Facebook page that has gotten more than 40,000 likes and an online petition to spare his life.
The campaign doesn't mean that they value the dog's life above the child's, supporters said.
"This is not Kevin versus Mickey," said attorney John Schill, who is representing the dog in the court petition. "Having Mickey killed is not going to take away Kevin's pain or injuries. The only thing this is going to do is kill a poor, innocent dog."
Pit bulls are viewed by some as a dangerous breed, a reputation their fans dispute, the AP reported.
The petition to have the vicious-animal put down was filed by Guadalupe Villa, who was at the scene of the attack.
"I just looked at all this as this could have been my son, and I don't want it to be someone else," Villa said.
Schill said he is working pro bono at the request of The Lexus Project, a nonprofit that collects money to legally defend canines in danger of being euthanized. The organization has set up a trust for Mickey that has received more than $5,600, he said.
The person watching Kevin while his mother was at work should be held responsible, Schill said.
"But for adults involved, this never would have happened," Schill said. "They're trying to put all the blame on Mickey."
Villa, whose boyfriend's mother was baby-sitting Kevin the day of the attack, said her friend is not to blame.
"She took amazing care of that little boy," said Villa, who claims in the petition that Mickey killed her dog last year.
According to Villa, Kevin picked up a bone lying on the ground near the dog, which was kept on a chain. That's when Mickey suddenly attacked Kevin, Villa said.
Claiming that she doesn't understand the Facebook attention, Villa said she doesn't see Mickey as a victim.
Kevin was hospitalized at Maricopa Medical Center with a broken eye socket, cheek bone and lower jaw bone, according to doctors.
Dr. Salvatore Lettieri, a Mayo Clinic physician and chief of cosmetic surgery at Maricopa Medical Center, said he was able to fix the broken bones and reattach the muscles that allow Kevin to open and close his eye, the AP reported.
"He still can't open his eye. We'll need to fix the tear duct drainage system - that is if he makes tears," Lettieri said.
After a week, Kevin left the hospital with a breathing tube in his throat and another tube to feed him through his nose since he can't yet swallow properly, according to Lettieri.
A family friend said a fundraising website has received about $6,000 in donations for Kevin. The Maricopa Health Foundation also established a website that has received 50 donations, the AP reported.
