Woman Praised for Saving Boy From Dog

A teen-age baby-sitter who stopped a family dog mauling a 6-year-old Ventura boy will be cited for bravery by the Ventura City Firefighters Assn., a fire official said Monday.

“She put herself aside just to save the child,” said Fire Engineer Vern Alstot, the acting fire captain whose company responded to the call Saturday afternoon.

He said Rachel Szatkowski, 19, of Simi Valley pulled the 75-pound Akita off Geoffrey Landry while the dog was attacking him in his back yard in the 6800 block of Norton Avenue.

Geoffrey, who suffered severe lacerations to his face and head, was in fair condition Monday at Ventura County Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. He underwent extensive surgery Saturday.

The 1-year-old male dog, who had bitten a 26-year-old woman at the same house in February, was given to Ventura County Animal Shelter workers by the boy’s father on Saturday and then euthanized, shelter director Kathy Jenks said. The animal’s brain was sent to a laboratory Monday for rabies tests.

Szatkowski, who was bitten on the left forearm and wrist, had seen the boy leading the dog across the back yard by the collar, looked away for a moment and then turned back when she heard the attack, Alstot said.

The dog had pinned the boy on his back and was biting him when Szatkowski rushed outside and pulled the animal away, Alstot said.

“The child did amazingly well,” he added. “He remained quite brave through the whole incident.”

Szatkowski will be honored with a letter of commendation, Alstot said.

Originally bred in Japan, the Akita has long been valued as a fighting dog in the Far East and can be aggressive, Jenks said.