Last week, 7-year-old Conner Landers was getting off the school bus at his home in a residential community in Azle when he was viciously attacked by a neighbor’s dog until being rescued by a neighbor.

Conner recently underwent through three and a half hours of facial reconstruction surgery at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, but has a long road to recovery with several more surgeries ahead.

The neighbor who came to the rescue was Lorena Parker. She spoke to NBC 5 as she reflected on that gruesome day, explaining, “[The dog] was shaking him. He was dragging him, tore his jacket off him. He tore his backpack off him.”

She immediately called 911 and picked up the nearest stick. The stick broke as she hit the dog and the animal then lunged at her. “Thinking back, there was nothing going through my head except to get to Conner,” she said. 

Parker reached Conner and began to carry him to her yard, where she hoped her fence would protect him. Conner’s mother, Cassandra Ware, was inside the home when she heard her young son screaming. “My son’s face was covered in blood,” Ware said. 

Though Conner’s life was saved, he was left with nerve damage, holes in his arms, and eleven severe cuts on his face from the attack. A massive amount of stitches cover his body and his head. He will undergo more surgeries in the future. Doctors believe he will regain feeling in his face. 

According to a fundraiser page started by the community where Landers lived with his mother, Ware is a single mother of two children, who works at the local donut shop six days a week to provide for her sons. Ware has also battled thyroid cancer and heart disease, and has had five heart surgeries.

When speaking with the community about the horrifying events that happened to her son, she only said she would appreciate a new backpack, winter coat, and clothes for Conner, to replace the ones that were destroyed in the attack. Though Ware asked for very little, the community started the page to raise money so that she could stay home with her son, pay for the gas to get to and from the hospital for his treatments, and cover his medical bills. 

As of February 10, the fundraiser, which had a goal of $10,000, had reached $15,870.

Ware shared that Conner is now scared to go outside because their yard does not have a fence. In response, a non-profit organization called Servolution Network created a group of community partners, other resources, and volunteers to start building a fence for Conner’s home beginning on February 4.

Home Depot donated materials, and Trinity River Fence and Construction, Azle ISD, the community, and the Fort Worth Police Department are all working together to put 246 feet of fence around his home. 

“I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my son and saving us and helping us to repair him and fix his life and make him feel safe again,” Ware expressed. 

Note: This article was updated on February 10 at 2:28 p.m. to include additional information.