American Pit bull dogs are known to be extremely loyal family dogs and will do anything to protect their owners. One pit bull is being hailed as a hero for saving the life of its owner from a 6-foot shark.
James White was having a peaceful day fishing off the coast of Bodega Bay in Sonoma County, California when suddenly he felt a huge tug at the end of his line. Excited that he had caught a big catch, he struggled for 10 minutes reeling it in, only to find a large sevengill shark.
White tried to remove the shark from his hook, but it twisted, and fell down and bit his ankle, resulted in a punctured artery. He tried to free his leg from the jaws of the predator, but could not. He called out to the nearby fishermen for help, but before they could get to him, his dog Darby the pit bull rushed to help him.
The one-year-old canine was kept in his jeep which was parked a few yards away due to the abundant traffic in the area, with the windows slightly rolled down. But when Darby saw his owner in distress, he kept scratching on the car door till he pulled the handle open and ran to rescue White.
The brave pit bull bit the shark on its gills, causing its teeth to sink deeper into White’s ankle, White told Darby to get off, but then the dog grabbed the shark by the tail and pulled it off of his owner onto dry land.
White then threw the shark into the ocean, and it swam away, White says his foot is still intact thanks to Darby. White says he was not aware that Darby could be so heroic and is thankful for his actions, “He’s been a part of the family from day one, just now a little more,” White said. “If it wasn’t for him I would have been a lot worse.”
It is difficult to imagine what would have happened to White, if Darby was not around to fight off the shark and save his owner.