BOY, 6, LEAVES HOSPITAL; PLASTIC SURGERY REQUIRED AFTER DOG ATTACK.

Byline: Leilani Albano Daily News Staff Writer

A 6-year-old Pacoima boy who had to undergo plastic surgery after being attacked by an 80-pound pit bull was released Sunday from Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles.

Walking hand-in-hand with his family, Erick Navarro appeared alert but tired as he smiled at onlookers and chatted with reporters.

He was happy to get out of the hospital and said he wanted to go to Disneyland.

Navarro endured wounds to his neck, head and part of his ear. The child also had a deep bite that cracked part of his skull, officials said.

He was among the three people attacked March 16 by a pit bull named Butch after the dog leaped over a fence and bit the 6-year-old, his 83-year-old baby sitter and a teen-age neighbor, witnesses said. The other two victims were not seriously injured.

``Erick is significantly improved. Our hope is that he'll have a good outcome, with a minimal amount of scarring,'' said Dr. Stephen Bresnick, the plastic surgeon who treated the boy. ``He should return to his normal quality of life.''

Navarro will receive counseling for nightmares he has had after the incident, said his mother, Raquel.

She said Erick was attacked with the others on their way to pick up the boy's younger sister from day care. ``He doesn't want to walk home anymore,'' she said. ``He now wants to be driven to and back from day care.''

His baby sitter, Maria Guadalupe Molina, who was hospitalized but released just a few hours after the attack, suffered bites to her arm, thigh and buttocks.

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Photo: Bite victim Erick Navarro smiles with his father, Mario Quijano, before leaving the hospital Sunday.

Tina Gerson/Daily News