CUSTER — A Rottweiler- Labrador retriever will be euthanized after biting a toddler’s face Tuesday.

North Whatcom Fire Chief Tom Fields said a 15-month-old boy was playing with the family dog in the 9100 block of Stein Road when the 6-year-old dog bit off a portion of the child’s nose.

Fields said the child, who was conscious and crying when the department responded, was taken to St. Joseph Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Su O’Neill, the boy’s grandmother, said in an e-mail that the child was transferred to Children’s Hospital in Seattle, where he is undergoing reconstructive surgery.

O’Neill said the dog, Buster, had never shown signs of aggression.

The Whatcom County Humane Society’s Animal Control and Rescue division confiscated the dog, which had been confined to a garage on the property after the incident. Several “beware of dog” signs were posted at the property line.

The unneutered male dog will be quarantined for 10 days under state law, then euthanized, said Laura Clark, community outreach director for the Humane Society.

“In this situation there’s no other option,” Clark said. “It’s a public safety issue.”

The Humane Society has no record of Buster previously being aggressive, Clark said.