“I didn’t want her to die”

“He jumped on the dog, pulled him off her and kept kicking him until her grandfather came to help,” Rebecca Chitwood said of her son

An 8-year-old boy is being hailed as a hero after saving his sister from an aggressive dog.

Rebecca Chitwood, the mother of Nicholas (8) and his 6-year-old sister Lillian, told local news outlet WNEM on Tuesday, July 2, that the children were playing with their grandparents at the time of the attack on June 30.

Related: 85-Year-Old Grandfather Dies Saving Wife From Dog Bite In Backyard: ‘He Was A Hero’

“When I got the call, I dropped everything I was doing and ran straight to the hospital,” she said, after discovering that a neighbor’s pit bull had escaped from the yard and allegedly attacked her daughter.

Chitwood made the trip without giving many details about what actually happened.

“To me, it could mean anything. It could be a few stab wounds, it could be what she’s experiencing now, it could have been worse,” she said of her initial reaction to the call.

Although Lillian is stable and has begun her recovery, Chitwood says her daughter still has a long road ahead of her.

“There was a cut on her neck, and it was about three inches from severing the artery,” she said. “And another bite went all the way down onto her face.”

Lillian is now at risk of serious nerve damage, but she and her family are grateful to be alive.

“It was hard, but I’m thankful my brother helped me because if he hadn’t, I would be dead right now,” she told WNEM.

Related: 6-week-old boy dies after being attacked in his crib by his family dog, family says

“I didn’t want her to die,” Nicholas told WNEM.

Chitwood called her son “the best big brother in the world” and added that she was “very proud” of him.

Chitwood also spoke to Fox News Digital about how Nicholas came to Lillian’s aid.

“He jumped on the dog and pulled him off of her and kept kicking him until her grandpa came to help,” she said of her son. “He was just trying to save his sister. He heard her screams and … He jumped into action.”

Related: 4-Year-Old ‘Scalp Ripped Off’ In Dog Attack, Family Member Says, As Mother, Boyfriend Arrested

According to a GoFundMe account started by Chitwood to help pay for Lillian’s medical expenses, the dog was NOT provoked before attacking Lillian.

“We were taken to the University of Michigan for extensive surgery. I found out the owners had no renters insurance and refused to help with anything,” Chitwood wrote.

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“The road ahead for my daughter will be long, and will involve countless trips to the University of Michigan, which is several hours away, time away from work, and countless medical bills for who knows how long, not to mention the mental aspect of this traumatizing experience for my little girl!”

The dog involved in the attack was euthanized by animal control, WNEM reported.

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