Nicholas Garvey's face is now swollen from bike marks, but the 8-year-old is still able to speak clearly about the dog attack that put him in Broward General Medical Center on Sunday.
"Super scary -- I thought I was going to get killed," Nicholas said.
Police said Nicholas was riding his bike in the 300 block of Southeast First Terrace with several other boys when the dog began to chase them, biting Nicholas.
"It grabbed the back of my shirt, and then I hopped off the bike and started running towards the house, and then he caught me," Nicholas sad.
The dog's strong grip and sharp teeth sank deep into Nicholas' back, arms and legs. He also was wounded in the face, where doctors had to sew 30 stitches.
"My arm is fractured," Nicholas said.
"This is not a bite; it's a mauling," said Nicholas' father, Brian Garvey. "That dog tried to kill him -- no doubt in my mind."
A neighbor heard Nicholas' screams and pulled him to safety.
"She saved my life, definitely, and I'm very thankful for that," Nicholas said.
The dog was a female pit bull that animal control workers captured and hauled away from the Deerfield Beach neighborhood. The owner, who lives in the same block, was cited for failing to keep the pit bull restrained.
Under Broward County's dangerous dog ordinance, animals get two strikes before they are euthanized, except when the attack involves children, which means the dog in this case will likely be put down.
(Post Newsweek - Oct 25, 2011)
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