Child, 7, Mauled By German Shepherd

ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. -- A 7-year-old boy in Cheatham County was mauled by a German shepherd last Wednesday.

Video: Cheatham County Child Mauled By Dog

His wounds are healing, but the attack could have killed Oliver Rayson if a neighbor hadn't intervened.

Rayson and his sister, Laura, were walking to their family’s mailbox when the dog attacked, the children said.

The animal’s teeth left more than 25 punctures all over his body.

"The dog tried to put my whole leg in his mouth," Rayson said.

Laura Rayson said the dog dragged Oliver along the ground face down.

"He tried to drag him back into the bush," she said.

"What do you think he wanted to do?" reporter Nancy Amons asked the girl.

"Kill him," she said.

Neighbor Audrey Pendergrass heard the children scream and tried to beat the dog with a stick. When that didn’t work, she picked up a metal pipe and swung it at the dog until she got the two children behind her. While still swinging the pipe, she backed up and went all the way inside the house.

The dog continued to attack even when Rayson’s parents tried to leave for the hospital.

"He tried and tried to jump up and bite me again," Oliver Rayson said.

After the family left, Pendergrass’ husband got a gun and shot the dog. The people who own the dog could face felony charges, police said.

Last year, the Rayson family lost its 12-year-old son when he was killed in a horse accident in Illinois.

The German shepherd tested negative for rabies.

The family is from Australia. They moved here three years ago as part of a music ministry.

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