Jackson deputy rescues woman from dogs

A 71-year-old Jefferson woman recently found herself in a dangerous situation when authorities said she ended up alone in the woods with two aggressive dogs that had apparently killed her pet.

Fortunately, the woman had her cell phone and called the Jackson County Emergency 911 Center.

“She is lucky she had her phone. We have a big county and I happened to be down the road when the call came in,” Jackson County sheriff’s Deputy David Archer said Friday.

When Archer arrived at her rural home at about 7:30 p.m. April 11, he couldn’t see anyone.

“I started yelling her name. She yelled back and I ran toward her voice,” he said.

“She was sitting down in an empty creek bed holding her dog, which was obviously deceased. She was covered in blood and the dog was covered in blood. I checked her and she didn’t have any injuries,” the deputy said.

Archer said that about 30 to 40 yards away were a German shepherd and a mixed-pit bull and they were barking and growling at the woman.

“She was afraid to get up because she felt they would attack her,” he said.

Archer said when the dogs approached them, he pulled his Taser and sparked it, which caused them to back off. He then assisted the woman out of the woods and back home.

The woman told Archer she would bury her dog.

“The ground was dry and I wasn’t going to let her dig a hole, so I went ahead and buried the dog for her,” he said.

“She was in a good bit of fear and she thanked me several times for saving her life,” said Archer, who has worked as a patrol deputy for two years.

Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said Friday that she wrote a letter of commendation to Archer.

“I felt like he went over and beyond to assist her after her little dog was killed,” she said.

Jackson County Animal Control is now handling the case.