A Wisconsin mother has died after she suffered injuries while saving her son from a dog attack.
According to the Wausau Daily Herald Media, 35-year-old Heather Pingel was rushed to the hospital on December 8 after she tried to save her four-year-old son, Damion Bernarde, from their family dog.
A report from the Shawano County sheriff's office stated that Damion's father, Shane Bernarde, came home the afternoon of the attack to find Heather in the bathroom with the door shut.
Heather said that Damion had fallen down some stairs, but she didn't know where he was. After Shane found his son in the living room, Shane returned to the bathroom to find the dog attacking Heather. He was able to grab the pit bull, pull it outside and fatally shoot it.
"We don't know how long she was in there fighting him off," Shannon Pingle, Heather's sister, said. "Shane got home to find her lying on the bathroom floor. She said, 'I have no arms and I'm dying.'"
Shannon said that Heather's injuries consisted of kidney failure, both of her arms being amputated, and other health issues. "She is the bravest, strongest mother I know to do that for her child; she risked her life to save him," She added. "She is a hero."
Damion received about 70 stitches in his leg from the attack, and the police report states that Shane was also bitten.
Shannon couldn't say exactly why the dog attacked, but she did speculate one theory. "The dog was always kinda skittish when loud noises happen, so we are guessing Damion fell down the stairs and was crying and might have even kicked up towards the dog, and the dog grabbed his leg and Heather did everything she could to save her son," she noted.
Shannon also believed that Heather tried to get the dog away from her son by getting the dog into the bathroom.
Other police reports show that this is not the first time their dog has shown signs of aggression, but Shannon noted that Heather loved animals and couldn't abandon their pet.
"My sister has the biggest heart for animals and just couldn't get rid of it... her heart was too big and they thought they could fix him," Shannon said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Shannon to help the family. The GoFundMe page can be found here.