So, despite the nasty injuries, David Geisler told Channel 4 Action News reporter Ashlie Hardway that he fulfilled his child's wish for their 3-year-old Bullmastiff.
"I thought I did the best thing I could. I gave the dog a chance to live, gave him to somebody that lives on a farm," Geisler said. "My kid asked me not to kill him so that's the only reason the dog is living."
Stephen Geisler was bitten Thursday morning at his home in Avonmore, Westmoreland County, and flown by helicopter to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.
"I heard some screaming. I thought he and his brother were fighting. I got to the top of the steps -- he was bleeding like crazy. I picked him up, took him to the bathroom, holding the towel on his face," David Geisler said.
The father said the dog was playing with a bone with another smaller dog when Stephen accidentally got involved.
"It was shocking because it's your kid. I wasn't scared of the dog -- I was scared for my kid. There was a lot of blood," Geisler said.
Stephen has 50 stitches and needed surgery on his eyebrow area. He will likely be released Friday and go back to the hospital for a follow-up next week, his father said.
(WTAE - Sept 14, 2012)
