On Monday afternoon, 12-year-old Deacon Ashmore of Detroit proved his love for others and his bravery in the face of danger.
Deacon, his three siblings and some neighbor kids were playing outside when two pit bulls appeared and charged at the group of children, according to People. Deacon immediately put himself between the dogs and the rest of the kids, giving them time to run for cover.
“Then next thing I knew, I saw these dogs come out of nowhere and they, they like bit my leg,” Deacon told WJBK-TV.
“They got me back, like, behind my leg.”
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His left calf was left in tatters where one dog shredded through the muscle. It was a shock to his parents.
“Deacon came hobbling in, and I, I just — there was like chunks of skin falling off of him and the blood was everywhere,” his mom, Elisabeth Ashmore, said.
He was taken to Detroit Children’s Hospital of Michigan where he had surgery to repair his leg. According to dad Peter Ashmore, it was a blessing that the tendons and ligaments seemed to be intact despite the horrifying appearance of the calf.
“You know, the biggest concern was, you know, ligament and tendon damage,” Peter explained. “We were really grateful, God was really good, because you think about it like on your calf, I mean your Achilles is right there.”
“And just all the — all the ligaments coming down, that connect, like, a couple spots you can see where, like, man, maybe a couple of centimeters this way or the other, and it — it could’ve been really dicey on one of the, one of the side ones. That’s a serious kind of injury.”
Despite the significant amount of pain the boy had to be in, his thoughts went to his family and their well-being.
“He was just asking, like, ‘Hey daddy is Kingston okay?’ Like, ‘Did Hensely and Coco make — make it back in the house okay? Like, ‘Is mommy okay?'” Peter said.
“Like here he is, like, with a real serious injury and all he can do is think about other people. Right? And I think that just speaks volumes about the kind of young man, you know, he’s becoming.”
He was most worried for his 5-year-old brother, Kingston.
“He just kept saying, ‘I know Kingston wouldn’t have survived if the dogs would have attacked him,'” Elisabeth told the Detroit Free Press, according to People. “For him, it wasn’t a second thought, that’s the kind of big brother he is.”
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As the young hero recovers from his injuries, a GoFundMe has been started to help cover medical bills. Many have donated, and so far the fundraiser has amassed over $27,000 to help the family cover his costs.
Last year, there were over 400 dog bites reported in Detroit. This year, there have been over 150 so far. The Detroit Animal Control has since made sure the dogs who charged Deacon and the others are off the street.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
