A dog that bit a 2-year-old boy at Klyde Warren Park is getting a last-minute reprieve after a judge temporarily blocked the city of Dallas from euthanizing the animal.

Rusty, a pit bull-Labrador mix, was scheduled to be put down Tuesday, but the rescue group Dallas Pets Alive filed a request for a temporary restraining order on Friday. While the group had separately filed an appeal to a court order authorizing Rusty's death, a city prosecutor declined to delay the killing to wait for the appeal to be resolved, court records show.

"This imminent harm will cause Dallas Pets Alive irreparable injury in that the killing of Rusty is a final and irreparable injury to the very special 'property' of Dallas Pets Alive," wrote attorneys for the rescue group.

A judge from Dallas County Court at Law No. 2 ordered Dallas Pets Alive and city staff to appear at a hearing Jan. 26.

Luca Romero (Courtesy of Allis Cho)

Rusty's death sentence came from a Dallas municipal court on Jan. 5 after a judge heard evidence that Rusty had lunged at toddler Luca Romero while he petted dogs at a Dallas Pets Alive adoption event last month at Klyde Warren Park.

Allis Cho, Luca's mother, said the dog pinned the boy to the ground and sank his teeth into his arm and chest, leaving wounds that required multiple stitches.

"Four to five large men had to come in and literally pry the dog off of him," Cho said.

In a notice of appeal, Dallas Pets Alive disputed that the dog had caused "serious bodily injury" as defined by state law.

"The city failed to offer legally or factually sufficient evidence to support both the 'severe bite wounds or severe ripping and tearing of muscle' requirement and the statutory requirement of hospitalization," the group's attorneys wrote.

Dallas Pets Alive also accused the city of making a procedural error when filing paperwork for the case.

The group said a sanctuary in New York had agreed to take Rusty at no expense to the city and give him a place to live for the remainder of his life.

Though a municipal judge was not swayed, Rusty could be spared if Dallas Pets Alive prevails in its appeal.

Such was the fate of Lamb of God, a yellow Labrador set to be euthanized after biting a boy in the face last fall. "Lamby" — as the dog is know to her supporters — was owned by a homeless Dallas man.

The case attracted widespread attention. In the end, a judge allowed the dog to be sent to a no-kill nonprofit in Austin.