Dad Fights Pit Bull to Save Daughter
Categories: Kids 5-7, Just for dads, Health & safety, In the news
This is one of those stories that sends chills down my spine. It has a happy ending - but just barely.31-year-old Steven Hehr of Gladstone, Oregon was visiting with some friends in Happy Valley when he heard his seven-year-old daughter, Jayda, screaming outside. He ran out to investigate and found her literally in the clutches of an angry pit bull. The 90-pound dog's jaws were clamped on to Jayda's thigh as it tried to drag her from the tire swing on which she was playing.
Using his bare hands, Hehr pried the dog's mouth open and forced it to release his daughter. While Jayda ran to safety, the dog turned on Hehr. He managed to get the dog in a headlock and pin it to the ground while a friend beat it with an aluminum baseball bat. The dog didn't let up and the holding and beating continued until Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy Greg Martin showed up and did what had to be done - he shot the dog dead.
Jayda suffered severe lacerations to her lower leg and puncture wounds to her thigh and will require surgery to repair the damage. Her father dislocated a shoulder in the struggle and suffered bite wounds to his hands, chest, legs and arms.
But it could have been so much worse. "Had it not been for the father being present and pulling the dog from the child, that girl most probably would not have survived the attack," said Deputy Martin.
The dog's owner, Rick Harrison of Gresham, has not been charged with a crime, but could still face civil action from Hehr. I, for one, hope he is required to pay in some way for what his dog did to that little girl and her father.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Melissa 11-21-2008 @ 4:03PM
Um, why hasn't the owner been charged?? Why was his stupid pit bull outside with no leash?? That's just asking for trouble!! Poor little girl, big hugs to her, and big hugs to Dad for getting it done!!
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Jenni 11-21-2008 @ 5:07PM
Melissa, we always had our dog off her leash in our backyard; even with other children around. We also didn't have pitbulls that would attack people.
These kinds of stories are why, when I see a pitbull, I go out the other exit in the grocery store, park on the other side of the lot, or just plain stay away.
I know that not all pitbulls are mean; but those are the exception, not the rule. It's just the way they are bred and something needs to be done about it. You know it's truly a breed problem when the first think you think of when you hear a story like this and think "pitbull"; no one thinks "golden retriever" do they?
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Sara 11-21-2008 @ 5:21PM
oh how awful-I had to get rid of my pitbull because he showed signs of aggression and I am so glad I did before a tragedy like this one happened!
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emjaybee 11-23-2008 @ 11:46PM
I think this breed should be banned. You know, you always get people who say, "but we own a pitbull and it would never do that!" and sure, they're probably right. My problem with this breed is that when they *do* go bad, they are nearly impossible to stop. What other breed will keep biting and holding while you beat it with a baseball bat? Even a Doberman would run away, but these dogs have a switch in their brain that makes them act this way.
It's not really the dog's fault, but they are just not safe animals to live around, especially for children. I read a news story once about a pit bull breaking through a woman's window to get to her, it was so crazed...that's terrifying. It's like a loaded gun walking around, waiting to go off.
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jbaker 12-12-2008 @ 3:32PM
I feel very bad for this girl and her father but this dog is almost certainly not a pit bull if it weighs 90 pounds as this article claims. A true pit weighs between 40-60 pounds, half the size of this dog. It is articles like this that make people terrified of pit bulls.
Emjaybee, there is no switch that makes a dog, ANY dog, just go crazy. That statement is simply ignorant (uninformed, not stupid) and before you start attacking something you should have a factual basis for the attack.
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