Pit Bull Badly Mauls Boy, 3

A 3-year-old boy visiting relatives in La Habra was mauled by a neighborhood pit bull Saturday afternoon and was hospitalized with “massive” lacerations, authorities said.

Neighbors restrained the dog until police and animal control officers arrived in the 600 block of Rye Avenue.

Michael Macias of Orange was in stable condition at the UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange on Sunday, a hospital official said.

The boy’s mother, Suzette Macias of Orange, said the dog attacked after they got out of their car at a relative’s house.

The boy’s grandmother tried to lift Michael over her head to shield him, but the dog knocked her over, Macias said.

“This should never have happened. Pit bulls should not be domesticated at all,” Macias said.

“They were just having a day out and this happened.”

The dog may have belonged to a neighbor and was quarantined by La Habra animal control officers, police said. The investigation is continuing.

Dr. Jay Calvert, a UCI assistant professor of clinical surgery in the division of plastic surgery, treated Michael. The wounds show the dog “intended to kill this child,” he said.

“The dog meant business,” Calvert said Sunday. “There are massive lacerations. It was a vicious attack.”

The boy’s left eyelid was pierced, but his vision appears unaffected, Calvert said. Michael could have permanent scarring on his forehead and right cheek, Calvert said.

Calvert said a portion of the boy’s scalp was torn off, but doctors reattached it.