ANDERSON — The mother of an Anderson 8-year-old who was attacked by a pit bull hopes her son’s tragic incident will prompt city officials to draft stricter ordinances for pet owners.

On April 19, Teresa Krebs’ son, Tommy Roberts, was with his siblings, visiting the home of his half sister, Stacey Roberts, on 16th Street.

While Tommy munched on a peanut butter sandwich, his sister’s pit bull, Mustang, lay at his side, watching the boy finish his meal.

According to Krebs, Tommy says the dog then stood and looked up at the boy. Tommy stretched his arms out toward the dog, thinking the animal would lie back down. Instead, Mustang lunged at the child and bit Tommy’s cheek.

In the next room, Tommy’s little brother, Cody, 6, was playing with his siblings when he heard the attack. “I heard growling and screaming,” Cody said on Thursday.

Stacey Roberts ushered the children back into the bedroom while her boyfriend, Gary Smith, restrained the dog, which was still attacking Tommy.

According to Krebs, the dog ripped a 3-inch strip off Tommy’s cheek. The family never discovered the piece of skin, but Cody has his own theories. “It’s in Mustang’s belly.”

Tommy was rushed to a hospital and treated for the skin laceration. He will require reconstructive surgery to repair his appearance.

Krebs, who said the dog had never been aggressive with the children before, believes Smith was playing too aggressively with the pit bull, causing it to become vicious.

Stacey Roberts and Smith were not available for comment.

Mustang was held for a 14-day quarantine period at Animal Care and Control to ensure that he was not infected with the rabies virus. By order of city ordinance, Mustang’s owners were charged $1,000 in fines for Mustang’s release.

The dog’s owners did not pay the fine, but Joe McClain of Animal Care and Control said the dog would not have been released even if they had. “We had it evaluated by our medical adviser. It was determined to be a bad dog.”

The final decision about whether to return a dog to its owner is made by the Anderson Board of Public Safety, McClain said.

Dick Wiley, chairman of the city’s safety board, said the dog was determined to be too dangerous for release. “We have a veterinarian out there, and she also helps decide whether the dog passes the test of being an aggressive or if it’s a bite dog. It was so obvious with what he’d done that I was willing to go to court with this one.”

After 14 days of quarantine, Wiley gave the order to euthanize the pit bull.