Joseph D. Hayes rescued Cheryl A. Napolitano from an attacking dog, Sayreville, New Jersey, August 31, 2007. Napolitano, 44, was walking her small dog on a residential street when an 80-pound, mixed-breed pit bull approached and attacked her and her dog, taking Napolitano to the pavement and mauling her. She shouted for help. Hayes, 51, maintenance technician, lived in the neighborhood and heard her scream. He immediately ran about 150 feet to the scene, where he grasped the dog by its hind legs and pulled it off Napolitano. When the dog then resumed its attack on her, Hayes kicked and punched it, and he aided Napolitano to her feet. The dog turned on Hayes, biting him, and it followed Hayes and Napolitano, menacing them, as they walked away. After circling them, the dog left the scene, but it was later seized. Napolitano and Hayes both required hospital treatment for their bite wounds, Napolitano sustaining them to her hands, left ear, and ankle, and Hayes to his chin. He recovered.
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