Their actions were pure instinct.
UGI Utilities meter readers Marcus Getkin and Bill Freiwald were on their way to a customer’s house to perform a safety inspection when they saw a 13-year-old girl fighting off an attack by three pit bulls.
They jerked to a stop and starting yelling at the dogs, and each man grabbed a piece of equipment from the back of the truck. Then they raced toward the girl, using their tools to release the dogs’ grip on her arm so she could run to safety behind Getkin, and then to a nearby apartment.
“We just ran out with whatever we could. We didn’t think we were in trouble in the process; we just wanted to get the dogs away from her. We just couldn’t watch a 13-year-old girl be mauled. We weren’t going to do that,” Freiwald said.
While he was struggling with the animals, Freiwald himself stumbled, falling hard on his knee. Thanks to the dog-bite training he had received from UGI, he remembered to cover his neck while he was on the ground to avoid being bitten.
“There was a dog demonstration at the [UGI] Safety Summit on how you should keep your arms and feet away, and don’t turn your back on them,” he said. “That’s one of the biggest things we used—we never turned our backs on them.”
Getkin then shouted at the dogs, and as the animals moved away, the two men slowly backed toward their truck, calling 911 at the same time. Freiwald and the girl both were treated for minor injuries.
For Getkin, who had been on the job for only two months, there was one major takeaway: In an emergency situation, think quickly and rely on your safety training. “You don’t know what’s going to happen at the next house, the next gas meter, anything,” he said. “So, just be prepared.”
