A 9-year-old boy is being hailed a hero after rescuing a girl from a vicious dog attack.

Chyna Casillas went for a stroll with her dog Brownie when a pit bull came out of nowhere. “The pitbull was really trying to get to Chyna’s dog and Chyna got between the dogs to try and protect her dog,” said Valery Casillas, Chyna’s mother.

The pitbull then turned on her daughter Chyna. That’s when 9-year-old Drew Heredia took over. “it was kind of tossing her around and I got it in a rear neck choke hold,” said Heredia.

Drew Heredia has been studying Brazillian Jujutsu with his mother. Those lessons gave him the confidence he needed to do something most adults wouldn’t dare. “I don’t know if anyone could have acted so quickly and especially a little kid. He was a little man that day,” said Valery Casillas.

And if that wasn’t enough, after Heredia got a hold of the dog he held him down for nearly an hour until animal control picked him up. “The kid had him down on his side and he was maintaining his position until the dog pound arrived,” said George Vasquez, Chyna’s grandfather.

Following the attack young Chyna went home with a few bite marks and bruises, but if it had not had been for the courageous efforts of brave Drew the outcome could have been much worse. “Of course she got hurt, but I didn’t want her to get more hurt, more painful. Like I didn’t want her to get seriously injured,” said Heredia.