Statesville boy starts pre-K while recovering from vicious dog attack

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STATESVILLE, N.C. — A little Statesville boy who was attacked by two Rottweilers on Thanksgiving in 2015 has officially started pre-K while he continues to recover.

Ryder Wells’ mother posted pictures of the little boy in the Facebook group “Prayers for Ryder,” on Tuesday with his backpack and heading off to class.

Channel 9 spoke to Ryder's mom, Brittany Wells, on Wednesday about his first day in preschool.

"He was fine. He went and sat down and he said, 'I'm good, have fun,' and I walked out of the building and I took it a little harder than I anticipated. I did start crying which I didn't think I would," Brittany Wells said.

In November 2015, Ryder crawled out of a dog door at a friend’s house in Raleigh and into the backyard where the dogs were.

[PAST COVERAGE: Toddler returns home from hospital after vicious dog attack]

He was hospitalized in Chapel Hill, where he was treated for severe injuries to his face. He was released from the hospital several months later.

The dogs responsible for the attack were euthanized.

Brittany Wells explained his progress, but says he still has a long road to recovery.

She said Ryder had 40 procedures to fix the damage to his face with more to come.

Wells said she explained to kids in the class what happened to her son.

“And that was it,” Wells said. “OK mom, time to go, and I’m like, “What? I’m not ready.”

Ryder had fun at school and laughed. He said his favorite part of the day was lunch and he had peanut butter and jelly.

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