An eight-year-old boy saved his younger sister from the neighbor’s aggressive dog after the dog sneaked into the family’s yard and attacked the little girl.
Nicholas Chitwood is now being hailed as a hero after he came to the aid of six-year-old Lillian and stopped the adult pit bull.
The attack last Sunday in a Michigan suburb could have been fatal, the family said – if Nicholas had not reacted so heroically and quickly.
Not only did the big brother stop the dog from biting her in the face and neck, he was also able to get his sister to safety before the animal could do her any more harm.
There will be extensive nerve damage to the girl’s face, and doctors have yet to determine if more surgeries are needed. She is still in a lot of pain. The dog was put down.
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Lillian Chitwood was attacked by an adult pit bull at her grandparents’ home in a Michigan suburb last Sunday
Her brother Nicholas, hearing her screams, rushed to her aid and held the adult pit bull back.
“When I got the call, I dropped everything and ran all the way to the hospital,” Rebecca Chitwood, the children’s mother, told WNEM.
“To me, that could mean everything,” she said of the time she was told over the phone that her daughter had been attacked by a dog.
“It could be a few stab wounds, or what she’s going through now, or it could be worse.”
She said the children had been to their grandparents, playing in the backyard and enjoying the weather.
Then the neighbor’s dog allegedly got through the fence separating the two properties and targeted Lillian, as her brother was elsewhere in the yard.
The dog then attacked the girl, biting her in the face and neck. A scream was what prompted Nicholas to take action, their relatives said — describing how the young boy literally jumped on the dog, despite its ferocity.
“He jumped on the dog, pulled him off her and kept kicking him until her grandfather came to help,” Chitwood said of her son.
“He was just trying to save his sister. He heard her screams and… he jumped into action,” she said, pun intended.
Not only did he stop the dog from biting her in the face and neck, he was also able to get his sister to safety
Rebecca Chitwood, the children’s mother, described her daughter’s ordeal in an interview, as well as her son’s heroics
Immediately after the attack, Lillian was completely distraught, her family said.
She had multiple bites on her neck, some of which nearly “severed the artery in her neck,” her mother said.
“She also had her left eyelid repaired,” she added of the subsequent surgery at the University of Michigan, where graphic photos showed the girl’s swollen, stitched-up face.
“Multiple stitches,” she continued of the surgery. “And she has extensive nerve damage in her face.”
Nicholas also spoke out in an interview after miraculously emerging unscathed from the confrontation.
“I didn’t want her to die,” the bespectacled boy told the newspaper, as he continues to receive praise from neighbors and family members for his selflessness.
His sister, who now faces a long road to recovery, said of the ordeal: “It was tough, but I’m grateful my brother helped me.”
She added heartbreakingly, “Because if he hadn’t done that, I would be dead now.”
The neighbor’s dog reportedly crawled through a fence separating the two properties and then targeted Lillian
The dog involved has since been put down, the family said, as Lillian now faces a long road to recovery.
Chitwood is proud of the courage of both children, but he mentioned Nicholas again on Tuesday, as the trauma of the attack is still palpable days later.
“I’m very proud. He’s the best big brother in the world,” she said of the young man.
The dog was immediately euthanized by animal control after the family put an emergency plan in place. GoFundMe to help with Lillian’s medical expenses.
Rebecca described the dog’s behavior as unprovoked.
“Any donations are greatly appreciated,” she added, looking forward to more visits to the University of Michigan Medical Center.
At the time of writing, the site has raised $6,862 of its $10,000 goal.