Woman, 82, Wrestles Pet Out Of Dog's Jaws
www.thebostonchannel.com
November 15, 2004, BOSTON -- An 82-year-old woman is in the hospital and in pain after fighting off a pit bull to save her bichon frise.
NewsCenter 5's Jim Boyd reported that the pit bull mix had Kathleen Rehs' tiny "Buddy" in a death grip until the Pembroke grandmother unleashed her own adrenaline.
"Right now she's doing amazingly well. She's had a skin graft on her leg and she's doing wonderful," said Rehs' daughter-in-law, Maureen.
Kathleen Rehs, an 82-year-old, 100-pound woman, is hospitalized after having been attacked by a pit bull-German Shepard mix in her neighbor's yard.
Last week, Rehs' dog, Buddy, a 15-pound bichon frise, escaped from her back yard and wandered into the neighbor's yard. The pit bull attacked the bichon and Rehs went to its rescue.
The pit bull mix's owner, Paul Glover, said as soon as it happened, he went and apologized to Kathleen Rehs.
"I just don't know what to say. I feel terrible about it," he said.
Glover pointed out that his dogs were in their own yard and chained at the time of the incident. He said the bichon and Rehs were the intruders.
Maureen Rehs said her mother-in-law remained at South Shore Hospital Monday and most likely will be transferred to a rehabilitation facility before coming home. She said Buddy has gone through a couple of surgeries since the attack and has had part of a lung removed.
"He had half a lung removed, he had his ribs wired together, and of course, many sutures on some of the open wounds," said Maureen Rehs.
Maureen Rehs said as for the details of the attack, she heard that her mother-in-law and her bichon were attacked by neighbor's dog.
"I don't want to listen to the gory details. That's as much as I know and as much as I want to know," she said.
Police were called to the scene after the attack last week. But the Pembroke police chief told Boyd that it appears no laws were broken and, therefore, the dog attack is not a criminal matter.
Meanwhile, the dog that attacked Rehs and the bichon has been quarantined for 10 days, as required by law.
