A teenage hero emerged in Cullman County, Alabama, by saving a young girl from a terrifying dog attack on November 7. The quick-thinking teen acted swiftly to rescue 9-year-old Delyla McCay after a blue heeler viciously attacked her.

The frightening incident unfolded as Delyla sat on the front steps of her apartment building alongside her 13-year-old sister, McKenzie. Without warning, the dog lunged at Delyla, biting her face and refusing to release its grip.

“Mommy, it grabbed my face and it was just shaking,” Delyla recounted to her mother, Katie McCay, as reported by WBRC.

The young girl was attacked by the blue heeler while peacefully seated outside her home, until a brave teenager intervened to pull the dog away.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this before, and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone,” expressed Katie McCay, devastated by the ordeal. “Delyla is the sweetest child in the world. For those questioning if she provoked the dog, she was simply sitting there. She’s incredibly sweet.”

“I’ve never dealt with nothing like that in my life and I just wouldn’t wish it on anybody,” the girl’s mother said, according to the outlet. “And she’s the sweetest kid in the whole world. Anybody that knows my child, ’cause there’s a lot of people that ask, ‘What was she doing to the dog? Was it provoked?’ My kid was just sitting there. She’s so sweet.”

Delyla’s sister screamed in horror as the dog had the child’s face in its vise.

A nearby teenager rushed in and punched the dog until it let go. McCay said the teenager was also bitten in the process. 

An Alabama teen is being hailed a hero after rescuing a 9-year-old girl mauled by a dog in Cullman County. (Facebook/ Katie Joy)

The blue heeler lunged again and attacked the child’s back, according to the New York Post.

Delyla McCay suffered severe facial and back injuries and was airlifted to Children’s Hospital for surgery. (GoFundMe )

The child sustained severe injuries to the face and back and will require plastic surgery and rabies shots to recover fully.

The dog has been put down, according to Cullman County Animal Control.