“I was just hoping I wouldn’t die’: 10-year-old describes being viciously attacked by dog

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A 10-year-old is back home from the hospital after he was attacked by a neighborhood dog.

Keyan’te Blackmon is like any other kid.

”Mostly I just play games or lay down go to sleep and watch TV,” he said.

Art is also his favorite subject as a fifth-grader.

”I draw characters from video games, from books,” he said.

But you’ll notice the scars on his face.

Last Wednesday, Keyan’te Blackmon was walking home from school in his east Charlotte neighborhood when he says he was attacked by the neighborhood dog.

He says he went to pet the pit bull after he was told it was “nice” and that he could.

The first attempt went fine. A second time is when the dog attacked.

”That’s when it started growling and it grabbed me and pulled me down by my face and like started ripping me...ripping my face off,” Keyan’te Blackmon said. “I was just hoping I wouldn’t die and I was going to get home quick. I was about to give up but that’s when I hit the dog with my book bag and kicked to get away.”

To hear those words, his mom Jeanetta Blackmon says, is heartbreaking.

“That hurts because I wish I could have been there,” she said.

Keyan’te Blackmon was released from the hospital Saturday. He’ll be out of school in person until he gets the okay from his doctor.

“I’m feeling a little bit of pain. Some of the pain is in the back of my head, some is near my face,” he said.

Keyan’te, his mom and dad, they know the journey to recovery -- both physically and mentally -- won’t be easy.

The dog is under a quarantine at Animal Care and Control in Charlotte.

Jeanetta Blackmon says she wants it put down. She also wants the owners to be held responsible.

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