Aurora – For the first time since he was attacked by three pit bulls a month ago, Gregg Jones felt what it was like to be a 10-year-old kid again.
His hair in a ponytail, gauze still taped to his cheek and wearing baggy jeans that were cuffed around his roller skates, Jones smiled, said hello to friends, played skeetball and gave a heartfelt “thank you” to friends crowded around at a fundraiser for him Tuesday night at Skate City. As he circled the rink, flanked by his mother Renèe Muniz, he had just one request for the Skate City DJ: A song by Ludacris.
“He’s doing very well,” said Muniz, 37. “Mentally, he’s doing really well. He’s still not afraid of dogs.”
Jones has seen an outpouring of support, well-wishes and donations from the community and the parents and teachers at his school, Yale Elementary, his family said.
More than 180 people paid $5 each at Skate City’s two locations to help out the boy, and recently, a stranger came forward and paid the $1,500 that the family owed in rent after seeing news reports that they were about to be evicted. Ted Shipman, managing principal of The Bromley Companies LLC in Greenwood Village and developer of the 1,600-acre Bromley Park in Brighton, covered the rent. Shipman could not be reached for comment.
“It just chokes me up, so many kind people out there,” Muniz said. “I appreciate everything everyone has done.”
Detectives are wrapping up their investigation into the Nov. 2 incident, in which the three dogs kept in the backyard of the family’s central Aurora home attacked Jones after he came home from school.
Jones spent a week in critical condition at Children’s Hospital, and doctors amputated his left arm. While in the hospital, he showed no fear of petting therapy dogs that visited his bedside, Muniz said.
He was released from the hospital last week, was surprisingly cheerful and made a beeline for his video games, his mother said. The family no longer keeps any dogs at the house, they said.
“He just completed his fifth year of football, and he wants to continue football even with one arm,” Muniz said. “He wants to be either an artist or a football player when he grows up.”
One of the neighbors who helped fight off the dogs with sticks and a baseball bat was among the well-wishers at Skate City. Mike Brushel, 45, said he was surprised to see the boy in such good spirits and out on skates.
“I thought he was going to die,” Brushel said. “Strong heart. To see him like he is now, it’s got to be strong. I admire him.”
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-820-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
