8-Year-Old Boy Saves His Younger Sister from a Dog Attack: 'I Didn't Want Her to Die'

An 8-year-old boy is being hailed a hero after saving his little sister from a vicious dog attack.

Rebecca Chitwood, the mother of Nicholas, 8, and his 6-year-old sister Lillian, told local news outlet WNEM on Tuesday, July 2, that the children were playing at their grandparent’s home at the time of the June 30 attack.

“When I got the call, I just dropped everything that I was doing and actually just sped all the way to the hospital,” she said, after discovering the neighbor’s pit bull had gotten out of the yard and allegedly attacked her daughter. 

Chitwood made the drive with very little details about what actually happened.

“To me, that could mean anything. It could be a couple of puncture wounds, it could be what she’s experiencing now, it could’ve been even worse,” she said of her initial reaction to the phone call. 

While Lillian is stable and has begun her recovery, Chitwood said her daughter still has a long way to go. 

“There was a slice on her neck, and it was about three centimeters from severing the artery,” she said. “And another bite went all the way down on her face.”

Lillian could now face extensive nerve damage, but she and her family are grateful that she’s alive. 

“It was hard but I’m thankful for my brother to help me because if he didn’t, I would be dead by now,” she told WNEM.

“I didn’t want her to die,” Nicholas told WNEM.

Chitwood referred to her son as “the best big brother in the world,” adding that she was “very proud” of him.

Chitwood also spoke to Fox News Digital about how Nicholas came to Lillian’s rescue.

"He jumped on the dog and pulled it off her and continued to kick it until her grandpa came to help," she said of her son. "He was just trying to save his sister. He heard her let out a scream and … He jumped into action."

According to a GoFundMe account started by Chitwood to help pay Lillian's medical expenses, “The dog was NOT provoked” before attacking Lillian.

“We were transported to university of Michigan for extensive surgery. I found out that the owners did not have renters insurance and are refusing to help with anything,” Chitwood wrote. 

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“The road ahead for my daughter is going to be long one, and numerous trips to University of Michigan which is a few hours away. This will require time off of work, and numerous medical bills for who knows how long, not to mention the mental aspect of this traumatizing experience for my baby girl!”

The dog involved in the attack was euthanized by animal control, WNEM reported.