Sister, 8, stops dog attacking brother

ARIZONA -- Rachel Jackson can't shake the sounds and images of her young son screaming, his rib cage in the mouth of a large dog and his body pulled like a rope in a vicious game of tug-of-war.

In that image is one of her daughters. She's holding her brother's arm on one end and on the other end is the dog that attacked the boy Sunday at the Orchard Inn Motel.

Austin Jackson, 5, was bitten on the left side of his rib cage. He also has nasty puncture wounds on his left buttock from an attack that happened lightning-quick, according to his 8-year-old sister - and hero - Marissa McElhaney.

"My brother was running to ask a neighbor if he could ride his bike and he tripped. That's when the dog attacked him," said Marissa.

Marissa said the dog's owner, who also stays at the motel, had just opened the door when the dog lunged at Austin, where he lay after falling.

She said the man had the dog, described as part German shepherd and part chow chow, on a leash, but he made no effort to pull the animal off her little brother.

Rachel believes the leash was the kind that retracts and that it wasn't working.

In an instant, Marissa took matters into her own hands.

"I started yanking on my brother's arm and kicking the dog," she said. "I wasn't going to let him hurt my brother."

Rachel was upstairs in the motel room when she heard Austin scream.

"I knew it was my son," she said. "Every mother knows their kid's cry."

Rachel and a friend ran downstairs. The friend helped control the dog while she grabbed her son and ran back upstairs to the room the family of four is staying and called 9-1-1.

Marissa said once Austin was safely in the arms of his mom, the dog continued to act aggressively.
"I had to hurt him," she said. "I kicked him, hit him, slapped him. I finished it."

The ambulance, firefighters and the police came.  Rachel and Austin rode in the ambulance to Kingman Regional Medical Center and Marissa and her older sister, Kaia, 10, rode there with police.
"That was pretty awesome," said Marissa of the ride.

"The ambulance was cool," said Austin, smiling and laughing a day later. "And it was cool watching TV at the hospital."

Kingman Police quarantined the dog. Rachel said she's heard the animal has been involved in previous attacks, but the Miner could not confirm that statement by press time.

The problems continued at KRMC, where Kaia suffered an anxiety attack.

"They were in the same hospital bed," said Rachel. "It was awful."

"I couldn't breathe," said Kaia. "I couldn't get enough air."

Rachel, who suffered an asthma attack after the family returned to the motel and her adrenaline finally began to ebb, said she was proud of her daughter.

"Marissa is the only one who stayed calm the whole time," said her mom. "She saved Austin. She took care of Kaia at KRMC and then took care of me later."

Austin, being five, had two thoughts regarding his frightening ordeal.

One had to do with KRMC, where he didn't cry when he got a shot. The second was more personal.
"That dog ruined my Scooby Doo shirt," he said. "Stupid dog."

While his wounds are superficial, superficial can be serious to a child, and Austin is grateful to his sister.

"You're my hero," he said, before stealing a kiss.

(Kingman Daily Miner - Sep 6, 2013)