William Ward suffered broken arms and multiple bites when two dogs lunged at him in the driveway of his sister’s Wyoming home. He had gone outside to take a bag of trash to the curb.
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| Paytan Wiersum sits on her family's front porch, a day after being attacked by a dog in the front yard. |
The attack forced Ward to stay home from work for nearly four months after the April 2011 attack. He underwent surgery to mend the fracture.
It’s a time he won’t forget.
“I can’t walk out the door anymore without looking around,” he said Wednesday night.
“You’ll never get rid of the memories totally.”
Paytan Wiersum is recovering at home this week after a pit bull attacked her Tuesday afternoon in her family’s front yard, a day before her ninth birthday. She suffered at least 15 bites, her father, Aaron Wiersum said.
He recalled his daughter laying on a bed at Helen DeVos Children’s hospital, reliving the memories.
“I seen a tear coming out of her eye and she said, ‘I thought I was going to die,’” Aaron Wiersum said.
“She’s a tough kid.”
Wiersum’s hand is wrapped in gauze and stiches cover a side of her body, under an arm.
Aaron Wiersum hopes others will take care to keep their animals nearby and not allow them to run loose. He’s caught on one thought: “It wasn’t a tragic accident, it could have been prevented.”
Ward shared some of the same sentiments as he emphasized his belief that it's not a breed that’s dangerous, but a dog allowed to run loose.
“As long as there’s a human attached with them, I’m OK,” he said.
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| The pit bulls which attacked William Ward |
Ward shared his sympathy for Paytan and his best wishes for her recovery.
He hoped the girl’s parents would give her time to work through her emotions and acknowledged those feelings can be more difficult to get past than any injuries suffered.
"Life does go on," he said. “You’ve got to learn to live with it.”
“She’s definitely not alone in this.”
(The Grand Rapids Press - August 2, 2012)
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