Boy attacked by pit bulls clings to life.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

RICHMOND, Calif._There goes the kid with the basketball tucked under his arm, all grins and teases and jump shots that make bigger guys say "whoa."

There goes that quiet boy, dark eyes gravely cast down at the sidewalk, hand clutching a worn notebook filled with his poems.

There goes Shawn Jones. He's 10-years-old, nearly 11. Thinks he's going on 18 some days; feels more like 6 on others.

Shawn's the one with the basketball, the one with the poetry. He's the one lying barely conscious in a small room at Children's Hospital in Oakland, hooked up to tubes and machines, chunks of his face, throat and arms gone to the ravages of vicious dogs.

It's been two weeks since Shawn was attacked by three pit bulls while riding his new bike near his Richmond elementary school.

Since then, millions of people have seen pictures of Shawn in newspapers and on television, family snapshots lent to the media. His image haunts: a smiling boy, so innocent of what would come.

Behind that image, say Shawn's friends and relatives, is a regular child of the inner city. He loves basketball and wrestling, pizza and spaghetti. He's no stranger to the fiery pops of gunfire at night, the frustration of times when the ...