Small Hero Dog Saves Girl From Attempted Abduction

A four-year-old rat terrier mix smelled a rat: a human who was about to try to abduct Jennifer Jones’ daughter. The 12-year-old girl was walking to school on January 29 with her sisters and canine friend when a man pulled up next to her in a white truck, exited, and tried to grab her by the wrist.

That’s when the canine hero went into action. The victim’s dog went into protection mode and bit at the attacker’s ankle, which made him release her and she escaped, according to Cobb County, Georgia, Police Sargeant Dana Pierce, as reported in Life With Dogs on January 30. That split second saved her and her sisters, who all ran away with their pint-sized super-dog accompanying them.

“She kept walking and when he had jumped out of the truck he tried to grab her and my dog goes crazy,” Jones told WSB-TV Channel 2 Atlanta’s Carl Willis on January 30.

Colorado Newsday on January 31 noted that Jones’ daughter was understandably shaken up, but she was able to give a detailed description of the man to the police, from which an investigations forensic sketch artist drew a portrait.

The man is still at large. Neighbors in the Marietta, Georgia, neighborhood who were interviewed want the man caught, of course, but especially so because the incident occurred so close to a school. They noted that it was especially frightening because children often walk in the area without parents. Students often walk alone or in groups in the rural community, and this girl was walking on Darnell Road near Barber Road between 7 a.m. and 7:20 a.m. This is a route many students take. Of course, the neighborhood is on alert now, as this is a rare occurrence.

“My hero. My daughter’s hero.” Jones told reporters as she held the small dog. “I’m hoping that they find him and I’m hoping somebody is aware,” Jones said. “Very thankful that my dog bit him.”

The man is said to be middle-aged black male with a medium build, standing about five-foot-ten. He was wearing a royal blue hoodie and dark cap bearing a green symbol. She also told the police that the van was a late model that had scratches on the right side and rear.

Dogs have, of course, been credited with many heroic feats. As cited by the Inquisitr, another hero dog, a pit bull named Mamma, recently saved her family. Apparently, the man who attempted to abduct this girl didn’t count on a small dog’s devotion and tenacity. Great things can, indeed, come in small packages.

If you have information to help catch the alleged attacker, who may have sought medical attention for a dog bite, please call Cobb County police at 770-801-3479.

[Photo and video courtesy WSB-TV Channel 2 Atlanta and YouTube]