Authorities in eastern Iowa have declared a 5-year-old boxer-Labrador mix a dangerous dog for attacking a toddler just hours after it was adopted from an animal shelter.

Clinton Police Chief Kevin Gyrion says the dog's new owners took it to a friend's house hours after they had adopted him on March 15. Sometime after arriving, the dog bit a 15-month-old boy in the face, leaving massive facial wounds.

Gyrion says the boy was flown to an Iowa City hospital. He will recover, the chief said, but will need reconstructive surgery for the damage to his face.

Gyrion says the new dog owners were cited for having a dangerous dog, which has been quarantined at the Clinton Humane Society shelter. A judge will later determine the dog's fate.