"I was scared, I thought it was worse than that and I said 'oh God, this dog's gonna kill my son," said Gordilis' mother, Iris Acosta.
Acosta says she was in the park with her son right across the street from their /*Mott Haven*/ home on Saturday evening when a neighbor's dog-tied to a bike rack on a long leash-suddenly lunged and began mauling the little boy.
"When I saw his mouth, and I saw the holes on his mouth, I started screaming and going crazy. I saw that blood," she added.
Gordilis was rushed to a local hospital where he needed 28 stitches to close the gash above his mouth. He also suffered puncture wounds to his neck.
Other pit bull owners who take advantage of the park's popular dog run said they use extra caution when visiting during busy periods.
"I certainly wouldn't bring my dog into large groups of children. Not because she's mean, but because it increases the likelihood that something's gonna happen," said Tanya Fields.
For Iris Acosta, there's only one way to make sure the dog that attacked her son never does it to anyone else.
"They should put the dog to sleep, because this is my son's life, and my son is a human being. He's three years old, and if it wouldn't have happened to my son, it would have happened to someone else," she said.
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