ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Organizers raised thousands of dollars Saturday at a benefit for a Rock Hill boy who was attacked by a Pit Bull in May.
Kenny Allen, 12, had his scalp nearly torn off by the dog. He spent weeks in the hospital.
"Thank God he's as stable as he is, because it could have been death, he could have been dead," said Kenneth Allen, Kenny’s dad.
Allen said medical bills so far top $76,000, and are expected to reach in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Saturday, friends pitched in – taking a cue from Kenny’s favorite sport.
“Kenny loves wrestling,” said Allen. “One of Kenny's favorite things to do is wrestling.”
They put together a wrestling show with seven matches, including eight-time world wrestling champions Rock ‘n’ Roll Express.
Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton have taken to the ring for tag-team wrestling for 30 years, but were happy to take part in a benefit for Kenny.
“This is what we're about,” said Morton, in between signing autographs for the pair’s many fans. “This is the 30th anniversary shirt that Kenny is wearing, and anything that we can do -- after all the years that people gave to us -- it's time for us to give a little bit back.”
Organizers hoped to raise at least $5,000 from ticket and T-shirt sales. They sold nearly 300 tickets and dozens of shirts.
Allen said Kenny is recovering, but he’ll never grow hair on the back of his head, even after many surgeries. He’s terrified of dogs and has trouble sleeping at night sometimes.
But Allen was amazed at the turnout for the wrestling benefit, and happy to see his son having a good time.
“He's still beautiful and wonderful, with hair or without hair,” said Allen, “so he's going to be all right.”
