James Barney Jr. is not your average nine-year-old boy.
Speaking to members of the press from his bed in Arnold Palmer Hospital, in Orlando, James said at first he thought it was just someone playing with him.
I reached down to grab it and I felt its jaw, its teeth and I didn't know what to do so I immediately reacted and hit it a couple of times. It then let go a little, finally I had enough strength left to pry its jaw open a little and it was slipping and that's how I got the scratches.Then it finally let go and I swam to shore while yelling 'help' and finally some people came over and pulled me in.