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An Orem teen received the Boy Scouts of America Lifesaving Honor Medal Wednesday for saving his mother from an attacking pit bull.
Collin Jensen, 16, received the award for his heroism and because of the considerable risk he undertook when fighting the dog off. The attack occurred in July 2007 when the Jensen family was caring for their neighbor's schnauzer. Collin was with the dog, which was tied to a leash on the front porch, when two dogs ran up the street toward the home.
One of the dogs ran away, but the pit bull approached the schnauzer, and Collin said he tried to pet the pit bull to calm it down, but the dog attacked the schnauzer anyway. Collin's mother, Andrea Jensen, said she heard her son scream and she ran outside and tried to help save the schnauzer.
What happened next was a sort of tug-of-war between Andrea and the pit bull, with the small schnauzer acting as a rope. As Andrea tried to pry the smaller dog from the pit bull, she said the animal continued to bite her and the dog, while Collin kicked and punched at the pit bull's head. Collin said he didn't think much of his role in the fight.
"She just told me to kick it, so I did," he said.
Even as Collin fought with the dog, he said he was not concerned with it attacking him, because the dog was so intent on getting to the schnauzer. Collin said he even stopped kicking the dog because he was afraid of accidentally hitting the smaller dog, and he was concerned with hurting the pit bull as well.
"I didn't want to kick it, because I don't do that to animals," he said.
Andrea said she was even a little surprised Collin fought the dog so hard because of his kind temperament, and she said she had to tell him to keep kicking the pit bull.
"He's really loving and he's really mild-mannered ... he's never aggressive," she said.
The pair did manage to wrestle the schnauzer into the home, but only after slamming the pit bull's head in the front door several times after it tried to follow them. It was then that Andrea saw the blood all over the porch and entryway, and only then that Collin realized his mother was hurt.
The schnauzer was taken to a pet hospital, and Andrea went to the emergency room for x-rays. Although no broken bones were revealed, Andrea said her left hand still hurts when gripping anything. The schnauzer survived, but the skin on its belly had been ripped from the muscle and the pit bull had bitten through a leg.
"The strength of that jaw, I've never felt anything like that," Andrea said.
Andrea said the danger to the family was heightened because her 7-year-old daughter Abby was standing in the front doorway screaming. Abby said when she heard Collin yelling, she thought he had seen something cool, so she ran outside to look.
Abby was not hurt in the attack, but she needed some counseling to deal with the incident. Andrea said Abby couldn't sleep and followed her mother everywhere after the attack. Andrea had to reassure Abby the pit bull had been put down, because Abby thought the "brown doggie" would come back for her.
Even Abby knew something was wrong. She couldn't play her favorite Nintendo games anymore or eat lasagna because she had "flutterflies" in her stomach. Despite the problems the attack caused, Andrea said she is grateful it wasn't worse. The veterinarian told her the most dangerous way to attack a pit bull is to hit it in the head, and the animal could have gone after Collin.
"It could have been so much worse if he hadn't been there," Andrea said.
Few people in the nation receive the Lifesaving Honor Medal each year, said Delyle Johnson, the district vice chairman of programs in Collin's Boy Scout district. The medal is approved by the national Boy Scout office after considering paperwork and the stories submitted. Collin's mother submitted the story in secret, and Abby included her own account. Collin said he did not know he would receive an award and did not think he was a lifesaver.
"I had no idea," he said. "I thought I was getting a merit badge. I was wondering why they were making such a big deal."
Andrea said the pit bull that attacked her was not let loose by its owner but had managed to tunnel under one fence and jump over another in its yard. She was not afraid of dogs before, but Andrea said she is wary of all large dogs now.
In Provo, some people are wondering if there need to be stricter laws concerning pit bulls. Council member Midge Johnson received several e-mails from residents in the North Provost neighborhood about pit bulls they feel have too much freedom.
Wayne Parker, chief administrative officer for Provo, said there have been three reported bites by pit bulls in the Provost neighborhood in the last two years, out of nine total bites throughout the city. Parker said the city considered whether to pass an ordinance singling out pit bulls, but the problem seems to come from owners, not animals.
Most complaints for the animals have to do with current ordinances that have been broken, like letting the dogs walk on the street without a leash or keeping them behind fences that are too low. Parker said the council will be further considering ways to address the pit-bull problem in the neighborhood in the next work meeting on April 8. |
