PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) ─ A Providence family’s pit bull has been deemed vicious after it reportedly bit a 12-year-old boy in the face.

Lisa Washington tells Eyewitness News was walking home last Monday when she came across a dog barreling toward a group of children.

“He just came hauling at all of us, and I told the boys, ‘Don’t move,'” Washington said.

She tells Eyewitness News that one of the boys panicked, which is when the dog started attacking him.

Washington said she tried kicking the dog, a 5-year-old pit bull, in an effort to stop it from attacking the boy.

“I’m not going to sit there and watch a dog maul him,” Washington said.

After a few minutes, the dog’s caretaker, who is the girlfriend of the owner, ran outside to intervene.

“She finally got the dog off when he was on the ground, she was able to pull his collar,” Washington said.

The victim’s mother, Tomae Miamen, said her son now has a major lip injury and will need several procedures moving forward.

“His mouth will never be the same, I don’t care how many surgeries he gets,” she said.

At a hearing Wednesday, the dog’s owner said it has never acted like that before and likely only became aggressive while it was being attacked.

The city ended up ruling the dog was vicious and provided the owner to complete a list of requirements, including putting up a full fence around his property, neutering the dog and getting pet insurance.

City officials at the hearing said the owner has five days to appeal the ruling if he wants to.

Eyewitness News spoke with the dog’s owner but he declined to comment.

Washington created a GoFundMe page for the boy to help pay for his medical expenses.