Battlespace
Member
Soldiers cannot keep handguns in their quarters. They can keep longguns, but even that is frowned on. If this guy would have done what most of us would have done and shot the dog, after rescuing the kid, he would now be in the confinement facility.
By SPC. IAN BOUDREAU/Turret Staff Writer
A Fort Knox drill sergeant became a Valentine's Day hero when he came to the rescue of a Pritchard Place child.
Staff Sgt. Anthony Etheridge, a drill sergeant with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 81st Armor Regt., said he was washing his car when he noticed a neighbor's large Rottweiler running loose in the area.
"I didn't think anything of it at first," he said. Etheridge initially thought the animal would stay close to home—until the dog began running toward a small boy playing in a grassy area in the neighborhood.
"The dog started to run toward the kid," Etheridge said. "It knocked him down and grabbed him by the pant leg."
The Rottweiler then started shaking the child as if he were a rag.
Etheridge had already started running toward the scene when the child got free. By the time Etheridge had arrived, the dog had knocked the child back down, this time grabbing hold of his shirt back and shaking him again.
"I grabbed the dog by the collar and separated them," Etheridge explained. "Then I held the kid over my head."
The dog began jumping and snapping at the child in Etheridge's hands. At around 150 pounds, the animal could look Etheridge in the eye when it reared up on its hind legs, said Capt. Ian Murray, Etheridge's company commander.
Etheridge said he made it over to a nearby fence and placed the child on the opposite side. That's when the dog became violent.
"I turned to see where the dog was," he said. "It lunged for me."
The dog bit down on his forearm, puncturing the skin. Etheridge tried fighting it off, but he was bitten again on the forearm and left leg before he was able to get over the fence himself, he said.
Etheridge convinced the boy to tell him where he lived, and took him back to his house. Etheridge now had to get back home himself n 200 yards away, with an angry dog still loose in the area.
"After I got the kid safe, then I had to get home," he said. "That was the scary part."
Fortunately, Etheridge made it home safely, and military police responded to the call. They apprehended the animal and transported Etheridge to Ireland Army Community Hospital, where he was treated for multiple bite wounds.
"I had four tooth holes in my forearm, and some cuts," he said. The worst injury was to his leg, where he suffered seven puncture wounds.
MPs issued a ticket to the dog's owner for failure to control a pet. The animal was taken to the Fort Knox veterinary clinic. The veterinary clinic was unavailable for comment on the dog's current status.
Owners are required to control their pets, and dogs are required to be on a leash unless contained in a secure, fenced area, according to Fort Knox Regulation 40-12.
The regulation also requires any animal that has bitten a person or another animal in "an unprovoked attack" to wear a muzzle while outdoors.
Etheridge is recovering from his wounds, and said he'd just begun light jogging on his injured leg last week.
Murray is recommending Etheridge for an award for his action.
"I'd do it again," Etheridge reflected. "I'd rather I got bitten than the kid. The biggest thing was that the dog shouldn't have gotten out."
By SPC. IAN BOUDREAU/Turret Staff Writer
A Fort Knox drill sergeant became a Valentine's Day hero when he came to the rescue of a Pritchard Place child.
Staff Sgt. Anthony Etheridge, a drill sergeant with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 81st Armor Regt., said he was washing his car when he noticed a neighbor's large Rottweiler running loose in the area.
"I didn't think anything of it at first," he said. Etheridge initially thought the animal would stay close to home—until the dog began running toward a small boy playing in a grassy area in the neighborhood.
"The dog started to run toward the kid," Etheridge said. "It knocked him down and grabbed him by the pant leg."
The Rottweiler then started shaking the child as if he were a rag.
Etheridge had already started running toward the scene when the child got free. By the time Etheridge had arrived, the dog had knocked the child back down, this time grabbing hold of his shirt back and shaking him again.
"I grabbed the dog by the collar and separated them," Etheridge explained. "Then I held the kid over my head."
The dog began jumping and snapping at the child in Etheridge's hands. At around 150 pounds, the animal could look Etheridge in the eye when it reared up on its hind legs, said Capt. Ian Murray, Etheridge's company commander.
Etheridge said he made it over to a nearby fence and placed the child on the opposite side. That's when the dog became violent.
"I turned to see where the dog was," he said. "It lunged for me."
The dog bit down on his forearm, puncturing the skin. Etheridge tried fighting it off, but he was bitten again on the forearm and left leg before he was able to get over the fence himself, he said.
Etheridge convinced the boy to tell him where he lived, and took him back to his house. Etheridge now had to get back home himself n 200 yards away, with an angry dog still loose in the area.
"After I got the kid safe, then I had to get home," he said. "That was the scary part."
Fortunately, Etheridge made it home safely, and military police responded to the call. They apprehended the animal and transported Etheridge to Ireland Army Community Hospital, where he was treated for multiple bite wounds.
"I had four tooth holes in my forearm, and some cuts," he said. The worst injury was to his leg, where he suffered seven puncture wounds.
MPs issued a ticket to the dog's owner for failure to control a pet. The animal was taken to the Fort Knox veterinary clinic. The veterinary clinic was unavailable for comment on the dog's current status.
Owners are required to control their pets, and dogs are required to be on a leash unless contained in a secure, fenced area, according to Fort Knox Regulation 40-12.
The regulation also requires any animal that has bitten a person or another animal in "an unprovoked attack" to wear a muzzle while outdoors.
Etheridge is recovering from his wounds, and said he'd just begun light jogging on his injured leg last week.
Murray is recommending Etheridge for an award for his action.
"I'd do it again," Etheridge reflected. "I'd rather I got bitten than the kid. The biggest thing was that the dog shouldn't have gotten out."
:banghead: 
