A Pit Bull Face-Off (page 2 of 2)

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"You Saved My Life"

Griggs stood ready and with one swing of the pipe deflected the dog. Startled, it turned and ran for the car repair shop.

The smaller pit bull, a female, ignored Griggs as he approached. He edged close enough to prod at her, driving her off to join the male.

Gently, Griggs reached down and tugged at the man’s shredded jacket. “Sir, sir,” he called out. No response. For a moment Griggs thought of moving Chapple to a safer spot or at least rolling him over. He decided against it, worried that any movement might make his injuries worse. He considered going for help but didn’t want to leave the man alone, for fear the dogs might return. So he stood there, guarding the body, trying to decide what to do next.

Thankfully, just a few minutes later, a police cruiser came driving by. Griggs flagged it down and told the officers what had happened. Even with an ambulance and animal control on the way, Griggs still wasn’t comfortable leaving the unconscious Chapple. It took two seasoned officers more than ten minutes to corral the pit bulls (though a dog lover himself, Griggs couldn’t help but feel relieved when he learned they were later euthanized).

Medics cut away Chapple’s jacket to find his left hand attached by only a few threads of tissue. His right ear was partly torn from his head. His right eyelid was gashed, he had bite marks all over his legs and his right hand was badly mangled as well.

A few days later, Griggs visited Chapple in the hospital. “I called his name,” Griggs recalls. “His eyes popped open. I said, ‘Do you know who I am?’”

Chapple groggily replied, “I know that voice.”

“I’m the guy who fought the dogs off,” said Griggs.

“Man,” Chapple whispered, “you saved my life.”

Over the following weeks, Griggs became a regular visitor. In time, Chapple began talking about going home. “Well, you’ve got my number,” Griggs said, “so if you need anything, call me.”

Local publicity about the attack caught the attention of Tennessee State Senator Doug Jackson. For years, he had been trying to change an antiquated statute, a so-called one-bite law that had been on the books since 1903. It essentially said that the owner of a vicious dog cannot be held liable for damage or injury the first time the animal harms someone. Given that every year in Tennessee, some 7,000 people are bitten badly enough to require medical treatment, Jackson thought it was time to close that loophole. He asked Griggs and Chapple to testify in support of his proposed law.

Although he was too badly hurt to appear in person, a shaken Chapple agreed to make a video statement from his hospital room. It was just two weeks after the incident. He described the ordeal, the terror and helplessness he felt. The attack was so savage, his left arm had to be amputated below the elbow, and doctors weren’t sure if he would ever regain full use of his right arm. He made a compelling witness.

A few months later, on the day before his 34th birthday, Zohnn Griggs got sad news. Unable to rally from his wounds, the frail Chapple had died. But he lived long enough to learn that his testimony helped convince the legislature to pass Senator Jackson’s bill. Two weeks later, the governor signed it into law.

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