Robyn Handley

Robyn Handley rescued two women from attacking dogs, Florissant, Missouri, December 22, 2020. A woman, 72, was out for a walk in a neighborhood when four pit bull dogs attacked her on a sidewalk, knocked her to the ground, and mauled her, tearing off part of her scalp and biting her face, body and limbs. As the dogs continued their assault, Handley, 64, an assembly worker, heard the woman’s screams from her house and, although suffering from arthritis and in her bare feet, ran about 150 feet down the street to help. She advanced on the attacking dogs while shouting and waving her arms, and shielding the woman, who was bleeding from multiple wounds. Handley stood guard over the woman and shouted for help as the dogs circled in a yard nearby. A second woman, 67, a retired nursing assistant, then approached the scene from the opposite direction and the dogs immediately attacked her, knocking her to the ground and biting her legs. Handley moved away from the first woman and advanced on the dogs again while waving her arms, driving the dogs away from the second woman. After the attack, another neighbor loaded the badly injured first woman into his car to await police while the dogs ran off and attacked others in a nearby neighborhood. The first woman suffered extensive wounds to her scalp, severe damage to her eye and face, and a deep leg wound. She underwent multiple surgeries and continued to recover. The second woman was also treated for bite wounds to her legs. Handley was not injured.