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With tears streaming down his face, 70-year-old Sylvester Cooper recounted the traumatic moment that turned his world upside down.

Five years ago, while working at a cookshop in May Pen, Clarendon, he suffered a vicious dog attack that cost him both legs.

"I was cooking there and I went out to order some chicken," he recalled.

Then out of nowhere, a stray Jamaica Brown Terrier, commonly called mongrel, attacked him.

"Di dog attack mi and bite up mi two foot dem," he said, adding that his legs were badly chewed up.

A diabetic who depends on insulin, Cooper was hospitalised for three weeks following the attack. After his release, he spent the next four years attending the out-patient clinic at May Pen Hospital, as medical personnel worked tirelessly to save his legs. But despite their efforts, the wounds refused to heal and the pain remained unbearable. Eventually, Cooper made the difficult decision to have both legs amputated above the knee.

"A mi alone, enuh, and mi affi do everything by miself, suh it nuh easy," Cooper said.

"When mi sit down and a think bout it, mi just cry, cry til mi cah shake it off," he said.

The attack didn't just rob him of his mobility -- it ended a decades-long career as a chef.

As retirement crept in and the kitchen was no longer an option, Cooper turned to a small hustle. He began selling snacks and drinks from a tiny roadside shop.

But business slowed, inventory ran low, and funds dried up. However, he received a lifeline Thursday in the form of a $50,000 grant from the Social Development Commission. Cooper was among 200 small business owners across Clarendon, St Catherine, Kingston, and St Andrew who received grants, totalling more than $11 million at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development in Kingston.

Now a wheelchair user, Cooper expressed gratitude for the assistance, which he accessed after reaching out to his councillor, Kenneth Davis.

"I see that you can survive off a little," Cooper said, explaining how he customises his shop with low shelves so he can operate it from his wheelchair. "It's okay to ask for help. Is help me ask for and get it. So if yuh ask fi help when yuh need it, it can make a difference."