A 14-year-old boy endured three surgeries and several rounds of rabies shots after he got viciously attacked by a beaver while swimming in a Maryland lake on July 29.

Dominick Cebula, 14, was looking at fish while swimming underwater at Cunningham Falls State Park in Frederick County when he felt something latch onto his chest, WUSA9 reported. 

The boy’s mother, Alishia Cebula, saw something approach the boy and yelled out for him – but he didn’t hear her as he was underwater, according to The Frederick News Post (FNP). 

‘[Dominick] grabbed [the beaver’s] head and a leg, and he tried to get it off of him,’ Dominick’s father Jeff told WUSA 9.

‘At that point, he felt that it was locked onto him. And then it started shaking its head, kind of like a dog would do.’

The boy was able to rip the beaver off and fling it away from himself, but then the rabid animal jumped at him again and bit both of his hands as the boy attempted to defend himself. 

‘I thought they were going to have to amputate my finger because the bite was down to the bone,’ Dominick told FNP. 

The beaver was caught, euthanized, and tested for rabies by Frederick County Animal Control, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The test came back positive. 

Dominick Cebula was swimming underwater at Cunningham Falls State Park when he was viciously attacked by a rabid beaver that bit him all over his chest and hands

Dominick underwent three separate surgeries to repair his bite marks and severed nerves after the rabid beaver attack

The boy said he can’t feel certain parts of his hands due to the nerve damage, according to the Frederick News Post

Dominick was airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to receive treatment for the bites.

He received three separate surgeries and will have to undergo another to re-attach a severed nerve in his right hand. 

‘Not to get too graphic, but there was a lot that was missing,’ the boy’s father said in reference to the chest bites, FNP reported. 

Dominick has since been released from the hospital with his arms bandaged up from his hands to his elbows. 

He said he’s numb in certain parts of his hands and a small part of his chest, according to FNP. 

‘It’s been an unnoticeable, slow recovery,’ the boy told the outlet.  

Despite it all, Dominick remains in good spirits. 

He celebrated his 14th birthday, went on a family vacation to Ocean City a few days after the attack, and started high school with a thrilling story to share with his new classmates, according to FNP. 

The boy was airlifted by helicopter to Johns Hopkins Hospital where he endured several rounds of rabies shots and three surgeries

Dominick’s father hopes the boy can recover fully in time to start training for wrestling season

‘He was pretty popular the first day of school,’ his father told WUSA9.  

Dominick’s father told FNP he hopes his son can heal in time for wrestling season in October at Walkersville High School. 

Dominick’s aunt believes it was the boy’s wrestling training that helped him fight the beaver off in the first place, she wrote on a GoFundMe post for her nephew. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Dominick’s parents for further comment.