Posted on 03/03/2005 7:24:22 PM PST by SLB
A Fort Knox drill sergeant became a Valentine's Day hero when he came to the rescue of a Pritchard Place child.
Staff Sgt. Anthony Etheridge, a drill sergeant with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 81st Armor Regt., said he was washing his car when he noticed a neighbor's large Rottweiler running loose in the area.
"I didn't think anything of it at first," he said. Etheridge initially thought the animal would stay close to home—until the dog began running toward a small boy playing in a grassy area in the neighborhood.
"The dog started to run toward the kid," Etheridge said. "It knocked him down and grabbed him by the pant leg."
The Rottweiler then started shaking the child as if he were a rag.
Etheridge had already started running toward the scene when the child got free. By the time Etheridge had arrived, the dog had knocked the child back down, this time grabbing hold of his shirt back and shaking him again.
"I grabbed the dog by the collar and separated them," Etheridge explained. "Then I held the kid over my head."
The dog began jumping and snapping at the child in Etheridge's hands. At around 150 pounds, the animal could look Etheridge in the eye when it reared up on its hind legs, said Capt. Ian Murray, Etheridge's company commander.
Etheridge said he made it over to a nearby fence and placed the child on the opposite side. That's when the dog became violent.
"I turned to see where the dog was," he said. "It lunged for me."
The dog bit down on his forearm, puncturing the skin. Etheridge tried fighting it off, but he was bitten again on the forearm and left leg before he was able to get over the fence himself, he said.
Etheridge convinced the boy to tell him where he lived, and took him back to his house. Etheridge now had to get back home himself n 200 yards away, with an angry dog still loose in the area.
"After I got the kid safe, then I had to get home," he said. "That was the scary part."
Fortunately, Etheridge made it home safely, and military police responded to the call. They apprehended the animal and transported Etheridge to Ireland Army Community Hospital, where he was treated for multiple bite wounds.
"I had four tooth holes in my forearm, and some cuts," he said. The worst injury was to his leg, where he suffered seven puncture wounds.
MPs issued a ticket to the dog's owner for failure to control a pet. The animal was taken to the Fort Knox veterinary clinic. The veterinary clinic was unavailable for comment on the dog's current status.
Owners are required to control their pets, and dogs are required to be on a leash unless contained in a secure, fenced area, according to Fort Knox Regulation 40-12.
The regulation also requires any animal that has bitten a person or another animal in "an unprovoked attack" to wear a muzzle while outdoors.
Etheridge is recovering from his wounds, and said he'd just begun light jogging on his injured leg last week.
Murray is recommending Etheridge for an award for his action.
"I'd do it again," Etheridge reflected. "I'd rather I got bitten than the kid. The biggest thing was that the dog shouldn't have gotten out."
Bump
Compensating for a lack of size in other places.
Be careful, the "poor little doggie" groups will show up soon to berate you for your lack of understanding of the situation.
I'm not one of them.
I disagree. The owner should be shot!
Let's be clear, just like children, dogs are only as good as their owners. Show me a "bad dog" and I'll show you a bad owner. PERIOD!
I think there are occasional bad seeds - as with children, as with cats - but in 90% plus cases, I think you are right. Shoot the owner! PERIOD PERIOD!
Sounds like it's time for a doggie treat-- a hot dog loaded with rat poison.
If I ever get in this situation, I'm going to do first grab my knife and stab the dog to death, if I don't have my knife I'm going to grab him by the collar, and choke him to death.Either way, I'm not letting go until the dog's dead.
I agree with you all.
Unfortunately, the dog may have to be put down.
But bad PEOPLE make dogs bad!
I have never been an advocate of any type of breed banning. The idea that I've always floated is to hold owners COMPLETELY responsible for the actions of the animals that they choose to bring into a neighborhood.
My basic question to any owner of a potentially deadly animal is, if your dog kills someone, are you willing to face murder charges? I never get a straight answer to that one.
In my opinion, the owner of the dog in this story should face assault and battery as well as child endangerment charges. Please explain to me why this is wrong...
Or a nice chocolate cake;)
I was agreeing with you, in part, and meant every word of what I wrote. ...no irony intended.
I once lived in a city where there were quite a few pit bulls and rottweilers. The town was rather mobbed-up. Those dogs, and those dogs exclusively, mauled a lot of people. Eventually, people could seldom go for a walk there without being attacked. Several people there were murdered by the dogs, including one 2-year-old. Needless to say, a lot of dogs of only two breeds were finally shot and poisened within a short time around there.
A dog that size could have easily killed that child if it would have been for the actions of that brave Sgt.
It's the owner! I am a dog lover; yet there are certain breeds that are more dangerous by virtue of their size or ability to inflict damage. My guess is that this Rotweiller had run loose before, as the Sgt was not shocked that he was running around. Regardless of how wonderful doggies are, their owners must have final responsibility as often we don't know what could set off even the nicest pet.
This soldier deserves our respect as his efforts saved that child for sure.
My question is, why can't we shoot a neighbor that goes out of control?
You got that right, Sarge.
It's 'Short Man Syndrome'.
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