A courageous grandmother valiantly protected her two young grandchildren from a pitbull attack, sustaining severe injuries in the process. Rhonda Stickney recounts the harrowing incident when her neighbor’s dog aggressively lunged at her daughter Tiffani, aged 27, and her grandchildren, Jaxsyen, four, and Keyahra, two, in April of this year.
Without hesitation, the 50-year-old positioned herself between the children and the dog as it made its menacing advance toward the doorway of her home in Motley, Minnesota, USA. However, the situation quickly escalated when the dog seized Rhonda by the leg, forcibly dragging her outside and subjecting her to brutal bites on her face and arms, causing profuse bleeding.
Recalling the distressing ordeal, Rhonda said, “My neighbor’s dog was outside, and my dogs were going crazy, so I was heading over to the door. My daughter opened the door, and I saw the dog lunging over to the door. I stepped in front of her.”
“My four-year-old grandson and two-year-old grandchild were standing next to her, so thank God I did because if it had got hold of them, it would have killed them. I didn’t think twice about getting in front of them. It grabbed hold of my leg, knocked me down, and dragged me out. It was so scary.”
She continued, “It went from my leg to my face. My adrenaline was going so bad that I don’t remember feeling anything. I was just so scared. My grandchildren saw the whole thing. My daughter was screaming. It tore at my face and latched onto my arm. My arm was punctured so when they went to rinse it to clean it out, it ran straight out the other side. Its owner pulled it off me. I got hold of its jaw with both my hands so it couldn’t bite me anymore. I basically fought it off. I walked into the house, I didn’t realize how bad it was. I saw in the mirror, and I was gushing blood all over the place.”
Incredibly, despite her bloodied state, the resilient mother of five immediately drove herself to the hospital for medical attention. Her injuries were severe enough to require surgery, and she continues to take medication to manage the pain. Rhonda fears that the scars on her chin, eye, arm, and leg might be permanent, but she harbors no regrets about her actions.
“I’m just glad it happened to me rather than my grandkids,” she stated. “The dog would have killed them. I’m so close to all of my grandkids. They struggled to sleep for a while after, and they’re scared to play outside when they come over. I’ve never been scared of dogs before, but now I’m apprehensive. I’m scared of pit bulls, and we don’t want the kids around dogs we don’t know.”
Rhonda mentioned that the police classified the dog as dangerous upon seeing images of her injuries. As a result, the owner was required to microchip the dog and ensure it wears a muzzle whenever it goes outside.
