A police officer at the scene said the boy, believed to be 8 or 9 years old, was in his yard playing with a football when the pit bull-Labrador Retriever mix at a house across the street got out of a makeshift crate and launched its attack.
The boy's condition was not immediately known, the police officer said.
Neighbors came to the boy's aid, using sticks and other implements to beat back the dog, said the officer, who noted that the dog's name is "Havoc."
The boy's uncle, Tyler Campbell, tells News Center 7 that the neighborhood has had trouble with the dog in the past, noting the dog "gets out all the time" and chases people and pets in the neighborhood.
Campbell said his son and the victim were playing in the yard with another relative when the dog got loose.
"It busted out of the cage, pinned my nephew against the house and started biting him on the legs," the uncle said.
The dog's owner was not at home when the attack occurred. Campbell said the owner drove up not too long after neighbors had come to the boy's defense.
"They picked up whatever they could pick up," Campbell said of the neighbors. "The dog wasn't stopping."
The dog is to be quarantined in the owner's home, according to the officer and the animal control crew. The owner has been cited to court for allowing the dog to get loose and for the attack.
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