Five-year-old Roman has been left scarred for life 'physically and mentally' after dog attack in Mexborough
A Doncaster mother has continued to share her heartbreak - watching her five-year-old son deal with daily anxiety attacks after he was "almost killed" by a loose dog.
Filmed clinging to his brother's pram out of fear, five-year-old Roman has been left with "severe anxiety" following an attack from a bully-type dog, which almost ended his life.
Joanne Goffey's son was tackled to the ground by the "out of control" dog on November 6, leaving him with wounds to his face and needing surgery to reconstruct his ear.
Despite her "ray of sunshine" bouncing back from his injuries quickly, Joanne has been left terrified of the emotional damage to Roman, which she fears will haunt him for "years to come." Joanne, 28, said: "Roman's on the other side of the statistic - it is truly a miracle he survived.
"Physically, he is healing. He has a follow-up appointment today with the ophthalmologist, but we are hopeful that the swelling has decreased significantly. However, his anxiety is getting worse. At first, we were running on adrenaline and powering through, but it is really affecting him and it's heartbreaking because he loves dogs."
In a short video posted to social media, Joanne filmed Roman ducking behind his baby brother's pram when he saw loose dogs across the field - something which has become a daily battle. Joanne explained that the family are looking into therapy for Roman, who has also been diagnosed with autism.
Joanne said: "He's scarred for life, physically we can already see them taking shape and place on his face, but mentally is another question - I really hope we can get him some therapy, but it's difficult because of his age and autism."
Currently, South Yorkshire Police are still investigating the incident. While enquiries are still ongoing, the police made a point of visiting the family for cake, showing Roman the police cars "in real life" as a reward for being so brave.
Joanne said: "The officers invited us in for cake and for Roman to meet the team, which was lovely. Roman also got to do the sirens in the police car too."
While the investigation continues, Joanne is fighting for laws to be made stricter for dog owners: "I feel like I'm shouting it from the rooftops, but aside from pleading for people to keep their dogs on a lead, I don't know what else I can do - I feel helpless trying to help him."