George Moore doesn't think of himself as any kind of hero. He just acted on instinct to stop a dog fight.
Moore, 70, was fixing a fence at his Frogtown Road home recently when he heard screaming from the field at New Canaan Country Day School. The commotion was coming from fight among three dogs being walked by their owners.
Not sure what was going on, Moore grabbed a shovel. Momentarily he saw Teresa Bogus of Norwalk apparently being attacked by two pit bulls. Bogus was on top of a Labrador owned by town resident John Almeida trying to protect it. The dogs began fighting after Almeida and Bogus went near each other with their pets.
"They were attacking the Lab and she was protecting the Lab. It was a bloody mess," Moore said.
Moore said he began hitting the pit bulls' rear ends with the handle side of the shovel, not to hurt them but to get them away from Bogus and the 9-month-old Lab. Moore managed to get them to back off twice, but they continued trying to get through the woman to attack the smaller dog.
It was only after he hit them about five more times that the pit bulls stopped. Police and animal control officers eventually arrived to settle things down. Both Bogus and Almeida suffered injuries in the incident.
Animal Control Officer Mary Ann Kleinschmitt had all three dogs placed in quarantine with area veterinarians. Both of Bogus' dogs have been banned from town limits.
Moore said he was not scared during the incident. "You've got to do what you've got to do. I said, 'Someone's in trouble here.' It was never an issue," Moore said. "I think I scared those guys."
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