Pit Bull Named National Dog Day Hero Dog 2008
They get a bad rap in the media, but Pit Bulls can be as gentle as any other dog. (ALL dog owners should be responsible, careful and loving, regardless of breed.) That’s why we especially love this news story about a heroic San Jose Pit Bull who was recently named National Dog Day Heroic Dog of 2008.
Maya is a 5-year-old Pit who weighs only 25 pounds, but that didn’t stop her from saving her owner from a vicious attack last June. Single mom Angela Marcelino adopted Maya, who had always been a gentle dog, when she was 3 months old and wrote this account of how her precious Pit Bull saved her from an attacker as she returned home from a birthday party:
“I opened my front door and was about to walk inside when I saw someone’s shadow out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head just as a man pushed me into my house. I screamed as loud as I could, but the man had slammed the door shut behind him.
“‘Shut up’ were the only words he said to me. He was choking me with one hand. I was able to scream one last time. After I did, his grip tightened around my neck. That is when I saw a white streak run in from the other room. His grip was so tight that I could only gurgle the words ‘Maya, get him.’ He still had a grip on my throat, as his other hand was busy trying to fight off my angry dog.
“I don’t know how, but I managed to get on my feet. His attention turned away from Maya for a second so that he could push my front door open and she followed. At that point I grabbed him in the groin as hard as I could. He doubled over and released the grip around my neck. I pushed him away and grabbed Maya by the collar. I like to think, at that moment, he told himself he had picked the wrong woman to mess with. He looked at me one last time, only for a second, and then simply walked away.”
Terrifying and eerie. We can’t even imagine.
But Maya’s heroism didn’t stop there. The attacker left a drop of blood by Maya’s eye — blood that was later tested for DNA and used to identify and arrest him for his crime. He now faces life in prison if convicted.
We love heroic dog stories — way to go Maya!
January 31st, 2008 at 8:26 pm
please please PLEASE let this story be a reminder to you guys to immediately sign up for self defense classes. Thank goodness the dog was there, but you should know how to defend yourself even without a dog.
I have taken many many self defense courses and have been able to get a 6′2″ male on the ground (I’m only 4′11″)