A dog that recently attacked a six-year-old Cheyenne boy was euthanized, according to the Cheyenne Animal Shelter.
Bridger Walker, 6, stood between his little sister and a charging dog on July 9. He was bitten “several times” on the face and head, but managed to grab his sister’s hand and run away with her to keep her safe.
In a post to the shelter’s Facebook page, the shelter said that Cheyenne Animal Control investigated the incident, as is the case for all animal bites in the city and Laramie County.
At the dog owner’s request, the animal shelter provided humane end-of-life services to the dog.
“It is always both terrifying and sad when these situations occur,” Sue Castaneda, CEO of the shelter, said in the statement. “Our hearts got out to the boy and his family as well as to the pet owners.”
It wasn’t clear what type of dog attacked the boy, who received 90 stitches afterwards.
His aunt, Nicole Walker, posted about the incident on her Instagram account, trying to get the boy recognized by the actors playing Marvel superheroes. Chris Evans, who played Captain America in his own series of films and “The Avengers” series, is gifting one of his shields to the boy for his heroism.
“Pal, you are a hero,” Evans said in a video response. “What you did was so brave, so selfless, your sister is lucky to have you as a big brother.”
Walker noted in her original Instagram post that the dog’s owners were “great people who have been nothing but kind to Bridger and his family” and that the Walker family felt no resentment toward them. Instead, there had “only been an increase of love between our families as a result of this incident.”
