April 30, 2008 - 9-Year-Old Boy Survives Pit Bull Attack

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April 29, 2008 - A New Jersey boy was attacked by a pit bull mix Tuesday afternoon while walking home from school. Nine-year-old Kassime Reddick is reported to have returned home after being released from the hospital later that night. He required hundreds of stitches to his face.

The third grader stopped to greet another dog, which belongs to Manny Cruz, when a pit bull belonging to Cruz’s next door neighbor broke free from his chain and attacked Kassime, biting him in the face. “I saw the blood fly," Cruz said.

Cruz was able to pull the dog off Kassime and place the injured boy on the roof of a car while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

The pit bull was captured and transported to a New Jersey animal shelter, where it was labeled as vicious. The dog will remain in the shelter for the next few days, but its ultimate fate is still unclear.

Care workers at the shelter warned against blaming the whole breed for isolated incidents of pit bull attacks. "When they're raised properly and bred properly they are really the most lovable dogs you'll ever meet," said one worker.

The pit bull’s owners refused to comment. Cruz reported that there have been no problems with his neighbors’ dog in the past.