Boy Mauled By Pit Bull Seeks To Hold Dog Owners Responsible, Overturn State's 'One Bite Rule'

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A little boy who was mauled by a dog is now on a mission to help others who are attacked.

Frankie Flora is fighting for a new law that would affect anyone who owns a dog.

Flora was mauled by a relative's pit bull when he was 5. It took 1,000 stitches and 25 surgeries to put him back together, CBS 2's Cindy Hsu reported.

"I remember being dragged by the scalp all the way across the lawn," Flora told Hsu.

"He had four sections of his head ... was down to the skull. His right cheek was missing and his left cheek was split open," said Flora's mother Maria.

Since the attack, it's been astronomical bills and non-stop medical treatments that will continue for years, Hsu reported. Flora and his mom are now fighting for a new law that would hold dog owners financially liable.

New York is considered a "one bite state," which means the owner is not held financially responsible if the dog bites someone for the first time, Hsu reported.

The Floras want to change that by overturning the "one bite rule" so owners are automatically liable.

"We need to have a law like this so if you purchase a dog, you need to be responsible for that dog, which in turn teaches people -- you know put the dog on a leash, lock the dog up, be careful where that dog came from," said Maria Flora.

"We're trying to help any kid or anybody for that matter to get helped by that law," said Frankie Flora.

Frankie has been fearless in his amazing recovery and has even gotten over his fear of dogs, Hsu reported. ""I just think of them as ordinary pets now, I don't think of them as monsters. A couple days after I got attacked I did think of it like that, but now it's a whole different story for me," said Frankie.

Not everyone is in favor of overturning the one bite rule, Hsu reported.  A New York State Senator introduced the change years ago, but so far the idea hasn't received enough support to get passed.

The Floras head to the statehouse in Albany Thursday to try to rally more support.

Frankie said he hopes to get the new law passed and to one day own a dog.

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