On Christmas Eve, Jeanetta and I agreed the greatest thing we had to be thankful for this year was having our 12-pound Benji still beside her in the chair after being badly mauled in October by an unrestrained pit bull mix as they two walked along an otherwise peaceful neighborhood street.
And we realized the stranger who lived in a house across the street from where the attack occurred was the only reason he's still alive. In her rush to get Benji to the vet afterwards, Jeanetta had never gotten the man's name.
We determined which house the man had run out of that morning and went there to meet Randall Morrison, a slender man in his mid- to late 20s with brown hair and a small beard. And yes, he was the only one who'd risked his own safety by bravely offering to help her.
He said he became involved because he saw a bloodied lady who badly needed help as cars lined up behind her on the street and bystanders watched a screaming Benji being carried away to his certain death.
"I was inside on the couch and heard the noise," he said. "I looked out the window and saw what was happening with this lady and her little dog so I ran into the street as the bigger dog was dragging the little one down a driveway to the back. He was still shaking him wildly from side to side and the little one was screaming in pain and fear."
Randall told us he raised a log as he approached the pit, and reared back screaming. "The big dog who still had his prey in his mouth growled. I told him come get some if he dared. He looked at me a few seconds and finally dropped Benji. I was able to scoop him up and take him back to [Jeanetta]. The big dog knew I wasn't about to let him kill the little one."
Randall later heard the attacking pit had been euthanized.
We thanked Randall and handed him and his family a Christmas gift and hugs for his courage and for giving us give us a reason to rejoice rather than weep this season.
Are you are sick as I am of reading about unrestrained large dogs mauling and killing people, especially children, adults and smaller pets, when state and local lawmakers could take a bite out of the problem by inserting painful teeth into some truly effective legislation?
It's become the norm nowadays to read of yet another small child mauled or killed by someone's large, unrestrained "pet" canine somewhere.
And yet those elected as "public servants" have lacked sufficient spine to end this carnage.
Think I'm exaggerating? I read the other day of young Bridger Walker of Cheyenne, Wyo., who at 6 years old in July 2020 stood between an unrestrained charging dog and his younger sister, thus saving her from what could have been a fatal attack. The young boy stood his ground and took the brunt of the attack, suffering bite wounds that required 90 stitches to his face.
His family Bridger later made the statement: "If someone had to die, I thought it should be me."
If it hadn't been for the criminally gross negligence of the dog's owner, the brave young man would never have had to make that choice.
Much closer to home, in El Paso, Ark., two brothers, Declan, 6, and Aiden, 10, helped rescue their 3-year-old sister Annsley from attacking dogs, family members said on Facebook. The attack reportedly occurred Dec. 11 at the children's grandmother's home.
"It was the worst day of my entire life ever," the grandmother told KARK.
According to the explanation on a GoFundMe site, Annsley was playing in the backyard at her grandmother's home when a neighbor's unrestrained dogs darted toward her. Declan initially tried to intervene but was attacked viciously.
Then Aiden, 10, stepped in to get the dogs off his siblings and received the brunt of the mauling. "My 10-year-old grandson was laying there saying, 'I'm dying, Bren, Bren, I'm dying, tell everyone I love them'," the grandmother told KARK.
Declan received 10 stitches spread from his back to his leg, according to mother Caitlin Mayo.
"Aiden, man, this kid is the bravest, best big brother ever," she said in a Facebook post. "The doctors told my mom if he had not gotten those dogs off Declan, we would be planning a funeral." Family members said in the GoFundMe description that Aiden had to have surgery following the attack.
"We calculated his surgery yesterday closed at least 38 vicious wounds," the grandmother said in a Facebook post. "We found a new bite on the back of his head that still needs to be cleaned and treated."
The children's father, Jacob Moore, said Declan and Aiden are "true heroes."
"We knew that these boys were gonna be special, we just had no idea how right we were," the parents said on the GoFundMe. "We could not be more proud of them than we are right now."
Local police reported a newborn baby girl in Cave Springs was killed by a bite from her family's pet Siberian husky about a week and a half before Christmas.
The injured 4-day-old infant was rushed to Children's Hospital in Springdale around midday on Dec. 14, Cave Springs police Lt. Keith Lawson said. The baby was then flown to Children's Hospital in Little Rock, where she was pronounced dead.
Based on the statements of witnesses and the opinions of medical professionals, it was determined the fatal injuries were inflicted on the child by the family dog. The 3-year-old husky was euthanized as required by state law. Though Cave Springs authorities are reportedly investigating the infant's death, they do not suspect the family of wrongdoing.
In Springfield, Mo., 21 people were injured before Christmas when two pit bulls attacked in the schoolyard at Willard Intermediate School. Three teachers and 18 students were treated by paramedics, and the school district said six of the victims required emergency care.
KY-3 TV in Springfield said animal control identified the dogs as pit bulls and euthanized them after the owners voluntarily handed them over. While rabies tests were negative, one dog was unvaccinated and owners couldn't provide proof of vaccination for the other one.
All this raises a fundamental question when it comes to unrestrained large dogs. When they attack and injure or kill humans, our immediate reaction is to euthanize them, as if that solves the actual problem of negligence by those responsible for keeping them restrained and vaccinated.
In a world where humans supposedly are in control (especially a civilized society), isn't this actually the most ineffective way to deal with the serious and growing problem?
Do we slay the offending animal for following , in the case of pit bulls especially, vicious behavior supposedly due to their nature from human mistreatment, only to face this same situation with other unrestrained dogs again tomorrow?
Knowing this is happening day after day, do we just remain in denial, pretending as if killing the offending animal and letting the irresponsible human owners legally skate solves the carnage?
I could have listed many more cases, but I've used my space today. There's always tomorrow. And when it come to such a serious matter, I'm not going anywhere.
A GoFundMe thanks
Speaking of GoFundMe, I wanted to take a paragraph today to profoundly thank those who have visited the new GoFundMe page established last week for me by Robin Seymore of Harrison (unbeknownst to me) to help with our medical expenses, both current and expected in 2023, arising from my battle with squamous cell cancer. Robin is the daughter of my lifelong friend Ken Reeves of Harrison, who I suspect may be behind this, because, well, that's just how Ken is.
Your thoughtfulness and caring are deeply appreciated. Happy New Year, valued readers.
Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, was editor of three Arkansas dailies and headed the master's journalism program at Ohio State University. Email him at [email protected].