A Bronx man is recovering in the hospital after he went out of his way to protect his beloved pup. Rakeem Young was out walking his four-year-old pit bull Chanel when the two were approached by a man with a machete. Young says he raised his hand to try to grab the weapon from the man when it sliced off four of his fingers.
Young, who has had Chanel since she was a puppy, said she wasn’t barking or being aggressive toward the man at the time of the attack. He says he has no idea what would have provoked the man to come after them.
“Trying to protect my dog, man, from these people out here that have no control, no self-control,” Young told New York’s ABC 7.
Young was taken to the hospital, where he had to have three of his fingers surgically reattached. According to CBS 2 News New York, he will need additional treatment, including therapy before he can return to his job as an MTA maintenance worker. His family has started a GoFundMe to help raise money to support his medical care and the long road to recovery.
According to CBS 2, police surveillance video captured an image of the attacker, who they say is still out there – something that worries Young’s aunt, Tashemia Young, who is caring for Chanel while Rakeem is in the hospital.
“This man is still on the loose. We don’t know if this man wants to circle back around and be like you keep talking about me, I can finish it,” she told CBS 2. “And he’s walking around here with a machete inside his pants. How are you not able to find this person?”
While Rakeem knows he has a painful recovery ahead of him, he says he would do it all over again to protect his best friend.
“Every time I close my eyes I replay it over and over again and I have a hard time sleeping,” he told the NY Daily News. “If he would have sliced my dog’s head off like that, that would have broke my heart. That would have broke me for the rest of my life.”