Pitbull attacks three-year-old boy

The red gash on three-year-old Cruz Morrissey's swollen cheek and a bruised right eye are the graphic evidence of a horrific dog attack that nearly took his sight.
The bubbly, brown-eyed youngster was left alone by his aunt in a car at Western Bay Vehicle Testing Station in Birch Ave for five minutes with Jake, a two-year-old pitbull terrier.
But the dog attacked - biting him on the side of his head and ripping open his cheek.
Hearing screams of pain, Tauranga's Lisa Knotts responded.
"I saw lots of blood in the car and this kid screaming and this dog was all over him," the 37-year-old said of Thursday's 10am attack.
A former staffordshire bull terrier breeder herself, Ms Knotts opened the car door and pulled the boy from the grasp of the dog.
Ms Knotts ran into the service centre where she had been waiting for a warrant of fitness for her car.
"I just grabbed some tissues and pressed them onto his face to stop the bleeding."
Cruz was taken to Tauranga Hospital by ambulance. Doctors used a special substance and "glued" the cut together without having to use stitches.
A council animal officer captured the dog. It is now being held in the city pound while investigations into the attack are carried out.
Cruz's mother, Danielle Morrissey, said the attack served as a warning not to leave children unattended when there were dogs around.
"It can happen so quickly. His aunty feels bad about it. It's not her fault," she said.
Mrs Morrissey wants her brother-in-law's dog put down but does not want to lay charges.
"Any dog that does anything like this should be shot. Cruz could have lost his eye, it was that close."
Ms Knotts yesterday visited Cruz to see how he was and played down her role in hauling him from the jaws of the attacking dog.
"I bred dogs for years and I know what they are like. I just had to get him out," said the mother-of-two.
Tauranga City Council manager of animal services, John Payne, said the unregistered dog would remain impounded while the investigation was carried out and charges considered against the owner.
Under legislation, the dog can only be put down either with the owner's permission or as a result of prosecution. Mr Payne said the shocking attack served as a severe warning to watch children around dogs.
"All child and dog interaction has to be supervised. It doesn't matter if the dog has an unblemished record _ you just can't trust them."
Under the Dog Control Amendment Act 2003, pitbull terriers were one of four breeds of dogs classed as "menacing".
The four breeds must be muzzled in public, and some councils required male dogs to be neutered.