Boy, 2, Suffers Serious Injuries In Pit Bull Attack

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A pit bull attack over the weekend left a 2-year-old boy with serious injuries to his face and neck.

Police say Deoveon Callier Mathews was throwing rocks in the air at Elton Hills playground in Rochester Sunday night when it happened.

"He's an awesome little boy. He's so active," said Ashley Callier Mathews, Deoveon's mother.

Deoveon's bright eyes and friendly smile mean everything to his parents.

"It was scary. I couldn't do nothing for him once the dog latched on," said Ashley Callier Mathews.

Ashley expects a difficult road to recovery for her 2-year-old son.

"All of his bones on his right side of his face were shattered," she said.

She said her son was playing with her roommate's pit bull Sunday evening like they had many times before.

"We live with the dog and we would never have expected it to end up like this because we're always around the dog," Ashley said.

Ashley described how the dog suddenly bit Deoveon's face. It took the dog's owner and another adult close to five minutes to get the 70 pound dog off the boy.

"Chaotic, sad, devastating," Ashley said.

Deoveon will have several plates in his face for the next year or so. He may never look the same, but he's alive.

"Don't take life for granted because you don't know what's going to happen. Seriously, one day you're having a great time the next it turns into something awful," Ashley said.

Rochester police say the dog was taken to a local animal shelter.

The Mathews' say they were told the dog will be put to sleep.