ST. HELENS, Ore. -- A St. Helens family wants a dog put to sleep after it attacked their 8-year-old son.

Elias Fields was at home Monday morning when a black lab owned by a visiting family friend attacked the boy.

The third-grader's mother, Allison Mandella, heard him scream and rushed him to the hospital where his father was waiting.

"Being a mom, there's a difference between a scream because I'm fighting with my sister and a scream because I bonked my head or a scream because something is really wrong," sand Mandella.

"It was the most painful thing I'd had to see, my most precious thing, damaged. Its not the thing I want to see on Christmas eve," Isaac Fields said.

Doctors said Elias should fully recover, but he may need some reconstructive surgery when he's older.

The dog owner declined to comment, but Elias' parents want the pet put to sleep.

Elias is in good spirits and said he hopes his grandma isn't too tired from the ordeal to wake up on time and cook on Christmas morning.