ROCK HILL — A Pit bull attacked a Rock Hill boy earlier this week, leaving him with scratches, a bloody nose and a swollen mouth.

Police on Tuesday spoke with the parents of a 7-year-old boy who said a dog attacked their son. The boy’s father, Randall McFarland, said his oldest son's friends were at his home while another son was outside playing with the other children's sister farther down the street.

When McFarland drove to get his younger son, he was accompanied by his older boy, Trystin.

Trystin, along with the two boys who actually lived at the Silver Stream Drive home, went to the door. When one of the children who lived there opened the door, a Pit bull ran out and attacked Trystin, according to a Rock Hill police report.

The dog bit Trystin on the face, McFarland said. McFarland immediately jumped out of the car as his son ran to him crying with blood running down his face.

"I took his shirt off and wrapped the shirt around his face," McFarland said. "I didn't really know at the time how bad it was."

One of the homeowners came out of the house and retrieved the dog, while asking if Trystin was OK. McFarland rushed his son to Riverview Medical Center on Celanese Road, where he received seven stitches on his left cheek, the report states.

When the father returned home, there was a note on his door from the homeowners with their names and phone number. A second homeowner said his children are supposed to knock on the door so someone inside can put the dog up before they open the front door, the report states.

"If the dog’s a little sweetheart, I don’t think you’re making the kids ring the door bell everytime to put the dog away," McFarland said, adding that he feels the dog is dangerous and county animal laws should be toughened.

When the family went to a judge to obtain a courtesy summons, the judge said, "the dog was just doing it's job," McFarland said.

Steve Stuber, York County Animal Control director, agreed, saying it could be conceived as a "provoked incident."

"The dog was on its own property," Stuber said.

The dog is currently under quarantine for 10 days "like any other bite animal," he said.

*A police report mistakenly listed the dog as a German Shepherd-mix and the story inadvertently printed that the dog was a German Shepherd when originally posted. Steve Stuber, director for York County Animal Control, confirmed that the dog was a Pit bull mix.*