Posted on 06/24/2003 3:07:22 PM PDT by knak
Boys save buddy attacked by dog outside home in the Point
If you think a pit bull is tough, try three little boys playing in the Point.
On Friday night, 9-year-old Natna Nega was attacked by a neighbour's pit bull in a courtyard in Point St. Charles.
With sprinter-like speed, Natna's best buddies, Bobby Hosie, 9, and Anthony Gervais, 8, pounced on the dog, screaming, kicking and pulling at the animal's chain.
Finally, they pried it away and an adult came to help them.
"My mom said I was brave but stupid," said Bobby yesterday, a sheepish grin on his face.
He and Anthony were not hurt.
The three friends, who hang out together, were tossing a ball in the courtyard of Bobby's building complex on Coleraine St. at 9:15 p.m.
The neighbour's 9-month-old pit bull was there, too.
The owner of the dog had assured the boys the animal was friendly, so they weren't worried.
But Natna grew uneasy when the dog kept looking him in the eye - an indication it might attack. So he threw the ball away hoping the animal might go and get it.
"I thought that it wanted the ball, but it wanted me," said Natna in the kitchen of his St. Henri home yesterday.
The animal lunged at his legs and sunk his teeth in. Trying to protect his neck, the little boy folded himself into a ball.
"If the dog can't get to my neck, it will have to go back to my feet," he thought to himself. "I'd rather have no feet than die."
But thanks to his friends' quick reaction, the story has a happy ending.
After he was freed, Natna was taken to a hospital by his parents and released the same night.
The three boys, all in Grade 3 at St. Gabriel's school, have gone back to their usual playful mischief, in spite of Natna's injury.
His swollen feet have several teethmarks on the soles, ankles and lower calves, but no bones were broken.
In her kitchen yesterday, Natna's mother, Diane Nega, held up the pair of white sports socks her son was wearing that day, now punctured with fist-size holes.
Her Expression Was Clear:
"My boy is lucky."
She was told by the dog owner that the animal had been vaccinated, so there is no danger of infection, she said.
Police officers asked the owner of the animal to keep it caged, Nega said.
The dog is gone now, said the woman who lives in the apartment where the pit bull's owner was staying.
She asked the man to take the pit bull away after she saw what it had done to Natna.
"I told him to get rid of it," said the woman, who spoke on condition that her name not be used.
Montreal police Constable Chantal Cusson said the pit bull is under a 10-day quarantine. Agriculture Canada is investigating the case and will decide what will happen to the animal, she said.
The dog has not been involved in any other reported incidents, Cusson said.
>But Natna grew uneasy when the dog kept looking him in the eye - an indication it might attack. So he threw the ball away hoping the animal might go and get it.
>"I thought that it wanted the ball, but it wanted me," said Natna in the kitchen of his St. Henri home yesterday.
>The animal lunged at his legs and sunk his teeth in. Trying to protect his neck, the little boy folded himself into a ball.
>"If the dog can't get to my neck, it will have to go back to my feet," he thought to himself. "I'd rather have no feet than die."
These kiddos are really need a pat on the back for doing all the right things in the right way. Kudos to them!
This is how idiot Canadians handle a vicious dog that attacks children and it's irresponsible owner? The "ask" the owner to keep it caged? This animal needs to be put down yesterday.
They really have gone over a cliff up there.
Really smart Kids...I glad you didn't say snakes... :)
This line alone makes me doubt the rest of the story. Or maybe it is just another case of a reporter having trouble with the written word.
Eaker
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