California Injury Blog
Drew Heredia, a 9-year-old boy is being hailed as a hero for saving a 12-year-old dog attack victim, who was bitten by a pit bull while walking her dog. According to this news report, Drew says he and his friend were walking a small dog on December 30, 2008 in their neighborhood when a pit bull jumped on the dog. The girl tried to save her dog when the pit bull turned on her and started attacking her.
Drew said he jumped on the pit bull and applied a choke hold that he learned while taking classes at a Brazilian jujitsu studio. The boy says he was scared, but did it anyway because it was the only way to save the girl from getting more seriously hurt. The girl, who was not identified, was taken to a local hospital and treated for puncture wounds. The pit bull was quarantined at the animal control office where it will be euthanized after 10 days. The owner of the pit bull is yet to be located. The girl’s dog was seriously injured, but is expected to survive.
This is a frightening dog attack, which could have turned from bad to worse in a split second. I commend young Drew Heredia for his bravery and presence of mind, but I also shudder to think about what could have happened in this case.
First of all, these children were very lucky that there weren’t more dogs involved as in some of the recent dog bite cases. I’m positive dogs that attack in packs are increasingly vicious and lethal because of the nature of these animals to prod each other to do more damage. Secondly, Drew, the young boy who bravely restrained the pit bull with his choke hold, was very lucky that the dog did not get out of the hold. He could have gotten mauled if that had happened. I’m relieved that this did not turn out to be a major injury or fatal dog attack. I wish the girl the very best for a speedy and complete physical as well as emotional recovery.
I also hope the dog owner is located and charged with criminal negligence for allowing his or her dog to roam around a neighborhood. This dog owner acted with callous disregard for the welfare of his or her neighbors and must be held criminally and civilly responsible for his or her actions. It would also be important to find out whether this dog owner has other pit bulls or dangerous dogs at home, which could cause serious harm or injury to neighbors in the future.