Rottweiler.

Twenty-one-month-old Donte Brown was attacked by the dog while he was walking with his aunt on Lighthouse Hill in Southampton last week.

He was rescued by former Policeman Mr. Mike Kelly who punched the dog between the eyes and kicked it in the neck. That forced the huge dog to drop little Donte from its jaws long enough for Mr. Kelly to grab him.

Mr. Kelly was described as a "guardian angel'' by Donte's mother Mrs. Lisa Brown.

After a rushed trip to hospital, surgeons operated on horrific wounds to the child's scalp, forehead, arm and leg. He received hundreds of stitches.

Now, nine days later, Donte is out of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and looking none the worse for his experience, apart from the odd scar just underneath his hairline.

Mother Mrs. Brown, of Bostock Hill, Paget, is delighted with his recovery and wrote a letter to The Royal Gazette to thank everyone and to clear up any misunderstandings.

Mrs. Brown is not keen to speak about the actual incident and stressed that she will not be pressing charges against the dog's owner, Mr. Bryant Richards.

She said: "Donte has been recovering at a miraculous pace and I know it's due to all the prayers of people in Bermuda and the United States, and the superb care he has received in King Edward Hospital, especially the blessed hands of surgeon Dr. Terence Elliott.'' Mrs. Brown described the last two weeks as "trying'' and "tragic'' and was grateful for all the support she received.

"I'll never be able to thank Mr. Michael Kelly enough for being my son's guardian angel and saving him at the scene of this horrific accident.

"Although I will try to express my thanks to him, he will never know how grateful my family and I are to him.'' Mr. Kelly tried to play down the incident the day after the attack but it is almost certain he saved Donte's life.

Mrs. Brown also thanked her co-workers, and doctors, nurses and hospital staff who looked after Donte.

She said she would take time off work until her little boy is completely recovered from his wounds. She stressed that Donte was not suffering from brain damage as a result of the attack.

The dog was destroyed over the weekend after a detailed report into its behaviour was prepared by Dog Control Officer Mr. Leonard (Shinah) Simons.

GETTING BETTER -- Just a couple of visible scars are evidence to the horrific ordeal that tiny Donte Brown suffered when he was attacked by a Rottweiler.

But Donte, pictured with his mother Mrs. Lisa Brown, has made an amazing recovery.