MT. STERLING, Ky. (LEX 18) — The family of a 10-year-old from Mount Sterling is looking for support after he was attacked by a dog over the weekend.
Jaland Cornelius was with his father, Adam Cornelius, as he worked in a parking lot near this weekend's Court Days festival. Adam claims a dog, which he describes as a pit bull, was on a long leash tied to a tree. The dog charged after Jaland and was able to reach and attack him.
"I heard my son squall, and I went around the truck, and he was already on top of him, biting his arm, shaking it real bad," Cornelius said.
Adam said he and his other son leaped into action to get Jaland away from the dog, and Jaland was taken to UK Hospital in Lexington.
"My biggest concern was my kid, man. I mean, his arm, it was just all torn to pieces, gutted. It was pretty bad," Cornelius said.
Jaland was taken into emergency surgery and according to his father, has 30 to 40 stitches and a drainage tube in his arm. He also suffered nerve damage.
"Now we're kinda concerned with the fact that his hand motions and things like that ain't going to be 100% right," he said. "We're kinda worried about having feeling in his hands."
Jaland now faces a long road to recovery and his family faces a long list of expenses.
"Biggest thing with us is we're just buying the supplies we need, buying the things we need, losing the days of work that we lost, financial strain on us. We're not going to go back to work until we know the kid's right," Jaland's father said.
The family has set up aGoFundMe as they try to financially support themselves through the situation. (Warning: the GoFundMe link has a graphic photo of Cornelius' injury attached)
Adam Cornelius is also calling for stricter laws for dogs.
"There's too many wild, vicious dogs running around out here that's biting little kids and little people," he said "What about a little old woman walking down the street, what if it would've got her?"
To donate to the Cornelius family, click here. (Warning: the GoFundMe link has a graphic photo of Cornelius' injury attached)
