3-Year-Old Toms River Boy Bit in Face by Family Dog

A 3-year-boy was attacked by his family's dog in Toms River on Monday night.

Toms River Police say the boy was playing with the dog in the kitchen when he was bit in the face by the dog, a breed of mastiff, in his home in the Normandy Beach section of the Ocean County community around 8:15 p.m. First aid was administered to the boy before he was flown to Cooper University Medical Center in Camden for treatment.

Toms River Animal Control took the dog into custody for evaluation and custody.

The American Kennel Club describes mastiffs as "sweet-tempered, patient family companions and guardians who take best to gentle training."

"Eternally loyal, Mastiffs are protective of their loved ones, and their natural wariness of strangers makes it essential that they be trained and socialized in early puppyhood," the club writes on its website.

100 percent of users of the kennel club's website rated mastiffs good company for children.

Toms River Police are investigating the incident.