Young boy fights off pit bulls to save 5-year-old sister

Maleik Carr didn’t hesitate to act when he and his little sister were confronted by unleashed pit bulls on their way to the bus stop.

The dogs had escaped through a neighbor’s broken fence as the pair of Dublin, Georgia siblings walked across their backyard Monday morning. As soon as they became aggressive and started snapping at his five-year-old sister Jalia, Maleik, 11, stepped in.

“I ran over there and started kicking them away from her, and they bit me. And I told Jalia to run,” he told WMAZ. “When they locked on to my leg, I got a chair and started hitting them with it.”

His quick thinking saved both his and his sister’s life. Maleik battled the dogs alone and once he was able to keep them off long enough, he jumped over his backyard fence to safety. That’s when his older sister took him to the hospital.

The young boy had emergency surgery for the deep wounds on his legs. He sustained a total of 23 bites on his leg, and a few more on his hands.

“It hurt me to my soul when I saw those cuts,” said the father, Willie Carr. “It was very hard not crying in front of him because he was already so strong, and I wanted him to continue being strong.”

Sherry added, “I was hurt, scared and after all was said and done, angry, because more care wasn’t taken to make sure these dogs didn’t hurt anyone.”

She’s also concerned because her eight other children often play in the family’s backyard, but Sherry said she takes solace in knowing how much they all care for each other.

“They will react to protect each other at all costs,” she said. “It makes me so proud.”

And of Maleik, Sherry said she was “so proud to have this hero in my house.”

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