{"id":7231,"date":"2026-01-21T14:03:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T14:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/?p=7231"},"modified":"2026-01-21T14:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T14:03:19","slug":"5-year-old-survives-dog-attack-and-deals-with-hurtful-public-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/5-year-old-survives-dog-attack-and-deals-with-hurtful-public-comments\/","title":{"rendered":"5-Year-Old Survives Dog Attack and Deals With Hurtful Public Comments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At just five years old, Ryder Wells has faced challenges that would overwhelm most adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The young boy from North Carolina survived a horrifying attack by two rottweilers during a family Thanksgiving visit in 2015. He was only 21 months old when the dogs attacked, leaving him with devastating injuries: half of his face destroyed, crushed teeth, a broken arm, and a punctured lung. Doctors weren\u2019t sure he would survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But survive he did\u2014and then some. Ryder has undergone around 50 surgeries since that day, each one a step toward rebuilding his life and reclaiming his smile. His journey is nothing short of extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet his battles didn\u2019t end in the hospital. The world can be cruel, and Ryder now faces a different challenge: the harsh reactions of others. Strangers, both children and adults, sometimes react in shock\u2014or worse, cruelty\u2014at his appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we go to the park, there\u2019s a child who points and screams \u2018monster\u2019 at him before running away,\u201d his mother, Brittany Wells, shared.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Gofundme<\/mark><\/sup><\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Continue reading on next page…<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cOut shopping, someone shouted \u2018ew\u2019 at him. It\u2019s heartbreaking as a parent. After everything he\u2019s been through, people should show kindness. But Ryder? He\u2019s a fighter. He doesn\u2019t let anything hold him back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Brittany prepares Ryder for school, her worry grows. \u201cHe wears glasses and a cap, sometimes hangs his head to hide his face. But I tell him every single day\u2014he\u2019s beautiful. Different is beautiful. It\u2019s okay to be different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brittany hopes Ryder\u2019s story can inspire others, teaching children and adults alike that appearances are never a reason for cruelty, and that kindness can change lives.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Gofundme<\/kbd><\/mark><\/sup><\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Ryder\u2019s courage is a lesson for us all. His resilience proves that even after unimaginable hardship, a child can still shine\u2014inside and out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let Ryder\u2019s story remind us:<\/strong> always choose kindness. Stand up against bullying. Celebrate differences. Share this story to inspire others and help create a world where every child feels safe, valued, and proud of who they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At just five years old, Ryder Wells has faced challenges that would overwhelm most adults. The young boy from North…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7231"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7235,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7231\/revisions\/7235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}