Michigan boy, 8, saves sister, 6, from near-fatal dog attack

WARNING: GRAPHIC

An 8-year-old Michigan boy saved his 6-year-old sister from a vicious dog attack that could have been fatal, according to her family.

Nicholas and Lillian were in their grandparents' backyard in Saginaw when the dog next door, a pit bull, allegedly got through the neighbor's fence "and made it into the backyard" where the two children were playing, Rebecca Chitwood, the children's mother, told Fox News Digital.

"They did not know the dog," Chitwood said, adding that the dog "had a history of escaping its property."

The dog then attacked Lillian, biting the 6-year-old girl on her face and neck.

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"She has several bites on her neck that were 3 cm. from severing the artery in her neck," Chitwood said. "She also had her left eyelid repaired. Several sutures. And she has extensive nerve damage in her face."

Nicholas stepped in to protect his little sister when he heard her scream.

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

Lillian was transported to the University of Michigan Hospital after the attack and has a long road to recovery ahead, her mother said. They are asking for donations to their GoFundMe titled, "Support for Brave Little Girl's Recovery Journey."

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"I'm so sad for my daughter. She's afraid to look in the mirror. She's afraid to start school in the fall for fear of bullying. She's afraid of dogs," she said.

Chitwood said she wants the dog owners to "take accountability," and she wants her children's experience to be a warning for dog owners to properly care for their pets.

"[A]nimal cruelty begins at home," she said.

Local news outlet WNEM reported that animal control euthanized the dog after the attack.