Dad fights off pit bull attacking his young daughter 08:51 AM PST on Friday, November 21, 2008 By DAVID KROUGH, kgw.com Staff Dad describes attack HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. -- A 7-year-old girl was rescued from an attacking pit bull by her father Wednesday afternoon in a Happy Valley backyard. Clackamas County deputy Jim Strovink said Jayda Kempas was playing on a tire swing while she and her dad, 31-year-old Steve Hehr of Gladstone, were visiting the home on Southeast 172nd, where the dog lived. Hehr told deputies he heard his daughter screaming and ran out back to find the pit bull clamped on to her leg, pulling her off the swing. Strovink said Hehr pried open the jaws of the dog with his hands and got it off of her, as 27-year-old Ian Tovar pulled Jayda to safety, gave her first aid and called 9-1-1.
Clackamas County Hehr was able to wrestle the dog, putting it in a headlock and eventually pinning it to the ground, but was bitten on the leg and in the chest. As he struggled to hold the pit bull down, deputies said 47-year-old William Bahler and Harrison took turns trying to subdue and kill the animal using an aluminum bat. But the vicious 90-pound-dog refused to yield, police said. A Clackamas deputy soon arrived to shoot and kill the dog. "I thought my fingers were gone, it was life or death to me," Hehr said. "My daughter's so small and the dog is so big so if it would have got my daughter off the swing, it would have been over."
Strovink said Jayda had severe cuts to both of her legs. She and her dad were taken to the hospital. Jayda was later moved to Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland where she was to undergo surgery Thursday. Her father called her a “real trooper,” and that she was expected to recover and was in good spirits. The dog's owner was identified as 37-year-old Rick Harrison.
The Clinansmith family was acting as a foster home for the dog. The dog had been there about a week as they searched for a new home. Hehr dislocated his shoulder during the struggle and was bitten on his hands, chest, legs and arms. Hehr is a Staff Sergeant with the Oregon National Guard, and served one tour of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. "Had it not been for the father being present and pulling the dog from the child, that girl most probably would not have survived the attack," deputy Greg Martin said. Also: Double pit bull attack in McMinnville Investigators planned an autopsy to make sure the dog did not have rabies at the time.