Man Bitten By Pit Bull While Saving 9-Month-Old Daughter From Dog Attack

A family was left terrified after they were attacked by a pit bull while they were out for their daily walk in Central Park in New York on Wednesday morning.

According to local media, Chris and Erica Chodkowski were walking through the park when a dog came out of nowhere and jumped on their 9-month-old daughter's stroller. The family was accompanied by their 2-year-old labradoodle.

“We didn’t hear him barking we didn’t know another dog was near us,” Erica told local media PIX11.

Chris went to protect his family and that's when the dog viciously attacked him.

“The dog really latched onto his arm,” Erica told local media, adding that Chris was rushed to a hospital where he needed 30 stitches to his right arm. Erica showed PIX11 the photos of the injuries her husband sustained.

“All he (dog owner) kept saying was I don’t know why he did that, I don’t know why did that,” recounted Erica. “I kept saying to him please don’t leave I need to speak with you.”

Erica said she wanted to know whether the pit bull was vaccinated, but the owner left the scene. She said her infant daughter was unhurt during the attack. Chris, who had fainted from the loss of blood, was given rabies vaccine at the hospital as a precaution.

“He’s out of work, he can’t hold (the baby), he’s in a sling, he’s all bandaged up, he has to go back next week and then for the next four weeks, rabies shots,” Erica said. “This is something that’s going to affect us for quite a while.”

Erica, who described the dog as a 60-70 pound white pitbull with reddish patches, said she wanted people to come forward with any information about the canine and its owner. She also said the family was planning to file an official police report.