Girl mauled by a raccoon as a baby starts facial reconstructive surgery 10 years after horrific attack

Her mother, then 18, and father, then 23, lost custody of Charlotte and her older brother following the attack, and both were adopted by extended family members Tim and Sharon Ponce.

This kind couple stepped up to the plate when the real parents proved inadequate, they deserve every bit of help they can get for Charlotte. I hope that surgery can help recover her looks and time will help her recover her faith in others. Good luck mate :)

Whilst one feels every sympathy for Charlotte and her parents, the place for a racoon is living free. The same applies to rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, snakes and all animals. None should be caged and kept as pets.

Whilst one has every sympathy with Charlotte and the parents who must feel terrible, a racoon is a wild animal and should be left to live free in the wild . No wild animal or bird should be caged and kept as a pet.

Love and wishes for the future Charlotte, you are a very brave and special little girl with a world of opportunities ahead of you. Grab them with both hands and don't let go.

I have to say that personally I feel that pets around babies and young children cannot be trusted, as without warning they can 'turn' and attack when least expected. Surely raising a baby and young children is a full time job anyway. So why the added pet as well ? In my view it's a selfish act to have a pet as well. Why not focus on the most important thing which is your children and if you so need a pet in your life then wait until your children grow up.

Good luck dear Charlotte. You truly deserve the best treatment that you can get..............x

Another reason why wild animals dont make good pets. Regular pets in general can be a risk factor at times when they arent used to children. Sudden changes to the house, (crying baby, affection being given to the baby etc) can have an effect on the animal, as can the smell of a baby or the crying. People need to think. Its not the animals fault or the childs. its the parents. They are responsible for the care and safety of the child and the pet. If you cant do that then should you have both!!

A very similar case in the u.k, parents left a very young baby at home alone whilst they went to the pub. Two ferrets which were housed in the babies bedroom escaped from their cages and attacked the baby.
Unfortunately the baby died, the comment from the father was "how can there be a God when he allowed this to happen"? Some people can do and say very very stupid things, it is sad when their children have to suffer the consequence.

bless her xx..heres hoping in the future she will be happy with the way she looks...whats happend in the past has happend all she and her perents can do now is look to the future good luck to them x

Fundraising should not be needed for this girl to have an operation. It should be common decency and humanitarianism that the government should pay, it should not be about money. I hope that in the future as scientific research progresses this girl will have as normal a face as possible. New surgical procedures and treatments are being developed all the time thanks to the hard work and dedication of scientists. Who knows what might be possible in the future?

RACOON?? WTF were they doing keeping it as a pet to begin with and ffsss if it was that owner posessive it should have been in a secure enclosure outside. I hope the parents were prosecuted and the racoon rescued and I hope that poor kid will have a near normal face in the future