Dog Attack Creates a Hero

Sixty year old David Deziel was walking near his home on a beautiful summer day near Deerwood, Minnesota, when two pit bulls and another small dog leapt out of the woods. They pulled David off his feet and mauled his legs. In an interview with The Brainerd Dispatch David said, "It was so frightening. I couldn't comprehend this and I still can't. If a wild animal would have attacked me I could have handled that, but two pets?''

Deziel had just made the turn for the return walk home when the first pit bull rushed out at him. Deziel believed it had been stalking him from the woods. The large pit bull clamped down on his knee. A second pit bull, smaller than the first, arrived and attacked the other knee. The smaller dog began chewing on bits of Deziel's flesh as the two larger dogs tore it off.

Deziel tried to hit them and force them off his body, but nothing worked. They mainly damaged his legs but also bit him in the face and ears.

This could be just another dog attack story, except for one thing: Teresa Catlin was driving by. Teresa, 37, saw the dogs attacking David. Though she lived in the neighborhood, she and David did not know each other. Teresa felt she had to act. "I pulled the van over, put it in park and looked around for something to use on the dogs and I found a flashlight,'' she said. "I ran out of the van yelling and waving the flashlight and one of the dogs backed off. I got right between the dog and David and called 911.'' She knew David didn't have a chance if she didn't help, and she didn't have time to be afraid.

Teresa was not attacked by the dogs, perhaps because of the flashlight, perhaps because of her assertiveness. The dogs lay down, panting from exertion as if nothing had happened. Teresa sat down beside David and they prayed together.

When emergency personnel arrived one of the dogs ran away. The other dog was shot so aid could be given to David. They transported him to the Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby. He was then taken to Hennepin County Medical Center for treatment. David came close to death on the fourth and fifth day when the trauma from his wounds, over 200 punctures and rips, began to take their toll. The pain was extensive.

Deziel is still full of scars, but so thankful to Teresa, who braved three attacking dogs with only a flashlight. Teresa knew the dogs from other incidents involving them. Her son had his pants ripped by one of them when he rode his bike down the road. A neighbor lost his dog, inside it's kennel, when one of the pit bulls broke in and killed it. Although calls had been made to authorities about them, they were still running free on the day they attacked David Deziel.

Diziel said, "How do you repay someone for saving your life?' What is a human life worth? There are no words to describe my feeling about her. I'm so proud of her, she's my hero. I don't know how to thank her.''

Heroes can come in all shapes and sizes. They can be afraid, but help anyway, or perhaps fearless in the face of overwhelming odds. Teresa Catlin is more than brave, more than exemplary; Teresa Catlin is the kind of hero that we should all strive to be. If she had stayed in her van and called 911, then David Deziel would not be healing today. We all must ask ourselves what we would have done in the same situation. Would we have been a Teresa that day? Or would we have done the safe thing?