Shon
06-08-2004, 10:33 PM
BEAVER DAM - Bette Cox said she owes her life to a pit bull.
A dog named Maverick protected the 64-year-old great-grandmother from a wild dog attack and lost a leg in the process.
At Cox's home on N.C. 210, Maverick is like one of the family. He watches cartoons with Cox's great-granddaughter and likes playing with the family's pet ferret. He loves to take baths, and when someone pops in the "Homeward Bound'' video, Maverick always curls up in front of the television.
Maverick, a 3-year-old, isn't aggressive, Cox said, except when a family member is threatened. Then he's every bit the warrior pit bulls have the reputation of being.
Maverick showed that the morning of May 29.
About 8:15 that morning, Cox put Maverick's leash on and took him out for a walk.
"We went out and all of a sudden he stopped,'' Cox said. "I said, 'Come on baby, go potty.' That's when I saw the hairs coming up on his back.''
A big stray dog approached, snarling and growling. Cox said it looked like it had the head of a chow and the body of a Rottweiler.
Although Maverick is a formidable presence at a heavily muscled 90 pounds, Cox said, the stray was even bigger.
Maverick pounced and clamped its powerful jaws around the stray's neck. Screaming, Cox let go of Maverick's leash and the two dogs did vicious battle in the yard outside the family's trailer.
It only lasted for minutes, but it felt much longer.
"I heard my mother screaming and I went out,'' said Cox's daughter Mary Brown. "Maverick had the dog by the neck and kept fighting the dog to keep her from my mom.''
Eventually, the stray ran into the woods and Maverick limped back into the trailer. He collapsed on the floor, and that's when Cox and Brown saw the blood.
Brown took Maverick to an emergency clinic, then to the East Fayetteville Veterinary Clinic. That's where Dr. John Lauby delivered the bad news - Maverick's wounds were so bad that his left rear leg would have to be amputated.
Hero coming home
Maverick, who is actually owned by Brown's daughter Anna Emmons, had the two-hour surgery a week ago. When I spoke to the family Thursday, they were preparing to go to the vet's office to bring Maverick home.
Stray dogs are a problem in the rural Beaver Dam area. Cox said she knows of neighbors who have been cornered by the animals outside their homes. Sometimes, the dogs hunt in packs, Cox said.
"We don't go out without protection now,'' Cox said. "We're always uneasy.''
Brown said she worries about stray dogs so much she won't let her granddaughter play outside alone.
The family's veterinarian bills have surpassed $1,200, Brown said, with more to come. The cost is hard to bear, but not as hard as losing Maverick would be.
"I know people would say he's just a dog, but he's not,'' Brown said. "He's a family member.''
The family is aware of pit bulls' fearsome reputation. Maverick's battle with the stray shows the dogs are capable of inflicting damage.
But they said most of the problems with pit bulls can be traced back to mistreatment by their owners. Raised properly, the dogs are good family pets.
And, if need be, fierce protectors.
A dog named Maverick protected the 64-year-old great-grandmother from a wild dog attack and lost a leg in the process.
At Cox's home on N.C. 210, Maverick is like one of the family. He watches cartoons with Cox's great-granddaughter and likes playing with the family's pet ferret. He loves to take baths, and when someone pops in the "Homeward Bound'' video, Maverick always curls up in front of the television.
Maverick, a 3-year-old, isn't aggressive, Cox said, except when a family member is threatened. Then he's every bit the warrior pit bulls have the reputation of being.
Maverick showed that the morning of May 29.
About 8:15 that morning, Cox put Maverick's leash on and took him out for a walk.
"We went out and all of a sudden he stopped,'' Cox said. "I said, 'Come on baby, go potty.' That's when I saw the hairs coming up on his back.''
A big stray dog approached, snarling and growling. Cox said it looked like it had the head of a chow and the body of a Rottweiler.
Although Maverick is a formidable presence at a heavily muscled 90 pounds, Cox said, the stray was even bigger.
Maverick pounced and clamped its powerful jaws around the stray's neck. Screaming, Cox let go of Maverick's leash and the two dogs did vicious battle in the yard outside the family's trailer.
It only lasted for minutes, but it felt much longer.
"I heard my mother screaming and I went out,'' said Cox's daughter Mary Brown. "Maverick had the dog by the neck and kept fighting the dog to keep her from my mom.''
Eventually, the stray ran into the woods and Maverick limped back into the trailer. He collapsed on the floor, and that's when Cox and Brown saw the blood.
Brown took Maverick to an emergency clinic, then to the East Fayetteville Veterinary Clinic. That's where Dr. John Lauby delivered the bad news - Maverick's wounds were so bad that his left rear leg would have to be amputated.
Hero coming home
Maverick, who is actually owned by Brown's daughter Anna Emmons, had the two-hour surgery a week ago. When I spoke to the family Thursday, they were preparing to go to the vet's office to bring Maverick home.
Stray dogs are a problem in the rural Beaver Dam area. Cox said she knows of neighbors who have been cornered by the animals outside their homes. Sometimes, the dogs hunt in packs, Cox said.
"We don't go out without protection now,'' Cox said. "We're always uneasy.''
Brown said she worries about stray dogs so much she won't let her granddaughter play outside alone.
The family's veterinarian bills have surpassed $1,200, Brown said, with more to come. The cost is hard to bear, but not as hard as losing Maverick would be.
"I know people would say he's just a dog, but he's not,'' Brown said. "He's a family member.''
The family is aware of pit bulls' fearsome reputation. Maverick's battle with the stray shows the dogs are capable of inflicting damage.
But they said most of the problems with pit bulls can be traced back to mistreatment by their owners. Raised properly, the dogs are good family pets.
And, if need be, fierce protectors.