Saturday 16th June 2001

A 73-year-old Florida woman saved her young Scots terrier by biting an attacking pit bull.

Margaret Hargrove was out for an evening stroll with her nine-month-old dog Alex when the pit bull attacked the terrier.

It clamped its jaws around the terrier's head and Mrs Hargrove had to bite it to get it off. (continued)

Both needed stitches afterwards.

"I could see my dog dying right there," Hargrove told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Hargrove said she got on her knees and bit the pit bull in the back of the neck.

"She just went: 'Yip!"' Hargrove said. "I never thought I'd be biting a dog."

The pit bull let go of the smaller dog and backed off, then bared its teeth at Hargrove, who bit the dog again.

A neighbour with a baseball bat arrived to scare off the pit bull.

Hargrove needed four stitches in her arm. Her dog also needed stitches to close wounds and suffered bruised eye.

Marc Hicks, the pit bull's owner, says he thinks some neighbourhood kids may have left his gate open and allowed the dog, named Holly, to escape.

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