Youth saves boy from dog

By Kevin Diakiw - Surrey North Delta Leader - May 07, 2008

Evan Seal video

A young man armed with a baseball bat is being credited with saving a boy who was seriously mauled by a pit bull over the weekend.

Jordan Slezak, 20, was chatting with his mom at home Sunday afternoon when he heard screaming. Looking outside, he saw a pit bull attacking 11-year-old Sean Bajwa at Cedar Hills Elementary School, near 98 Avenue and 123 Street.

Slezak called 911, then his mother said the words that may have saved Sean Bajwa’s life.

“Get the bat,” Slezak remembers her saying.

He charged out without giving it a second thought.

“I was a lot bigger than the boy who was being attacked,” Slezak told The Leader Monday.

He ran out with the baseball bat, scaled a fence and hit the dog twice in the head before it stopped attacking Bajwa. It then ran through a fence, and Slezak blocked it off until police arrived.

As of Tuesday morning, Bajwa was in stable condition after receiving about 100 stitches to mend bite wounds to his arms, legs and head. While his physical wounds are healing, the nightmares continue.

“He’s okay, he’s still in shock,” said Sean’s father, Manjit Bajwa. “He’s under sedation right now.”

The rest of the Bajwa family is still trying to come to grips with the situation.

“Everybody, we couldn’t sleep properly,” Manjit Bajwa said. “We think about the incident again, and again, and again. It’s all nightmares... You know, a small boy, I can’t see him crying.”

He hasn’t had a chance to talk with Slezak, but plans to thank him for saving his son’s life.

He said the attack highlights the importance of dog owner responsibility.

“There’s nothing wrong with the breed of dog, there’s something wrong with the owners,” Manjit said. “They need to be trained. They put the wrong dog at the wrong place.”

He doesn’t believe dogs should be allowed to run loose in school yards where kids are playing.

Slezak saw the owners of the dog being interviewed by the SPCA and doesn’t recognize them from the neighbourhood.

The incident is now being investigated by the SPCA, which has custody of the animal and another pit bull, which was not involved with the attack, but is owned by the same person. It will cost the owner $5,000 apiece to retrieve the dogs, however, the SPCA will not be releasing them until the end of the investigation. Animal control officers may also apply for an order to have the dogs put down.

The nine-month-old dog responsible for the attack did not sustain serious injuries from Slezak’s bat, SPCA staff say.

Manjit Bajwa said his son could be home in a couple of days.

kdiakiw@surreyleader.com

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Youth saves boy from dog

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