Having a sibling means having a friend for life. Brothers and sisters are those special individuals we can always rely on when things get hard and the first people to share our happiness with.
Bridger Walker and his four-year-old sister were at a friend’s backyard having fun when a German Shepherd tried to attack the girl. Without thinking twice, then 6-year-old Bridger jumped in front of her and acted as a shield. The girl wasn’t hurt in any way, but Bridger got severely bitten on the face. He was left with multiple scars and needed 90 stitches for the open wound to be repaired.
Today, a year and a half after the vicious attack, Bridger says he’s proud of his scar because it shows that he did what every brother needs to do and that is to protect his younger siblings. “If someone had to die, I thought it should be me,” the brave boy was reported saying at the time.
Speaking of his son’s selfless act and the scar he has on his face, Bridger’s father, Robert Walker, told People:
“My wife and I asked him, ‘Do you want it to go away?’ And he said, ‘I don’t want it to go all the way away.’
“Bridger views his scar as something to be proud of, but he also doesn’t see it as being representative of his brave act. He just perceives it as, ‘I was a brother and that’s what brothers do.’ It’s a reminder that his sister didn’t get hurt, and that she is okay.”
The story of Bridger’s bravery came to light after his aunt Nikki shared it online. “My nephew is a hero who saved his little sister from an attacking dog,” she wrote.
“He, himself, took on the attack so that the dog wouldn’t get his sister. He later said, ‘If someone was going to die, I thought it should be me.’ He got home from the hospital last night. I know it’s a long shot, but I’m reaching out to the Avengers and other heroes so that they can learn about this latest addition to their ranks.”
To her and Bridger’s surprise, Robert Downey Jr. who played Iron Man and Chris Evans who portrays the role of Captain America both responded with videos in which they praised Bridger’s act.
The boy, however, although happy with the superheroes’ videos, said what he did wasn’t heroic, he just acted the way every older brother should act during such a terrifying situation.
“It almost bothers him sometimes when he’s called a hero, because he [thinks], ‘Maybe I could have done more to shield her,’” the boy’s dad said.
“Chris Evans, his video was amazing and he sent the shield. Bridger couldn’t have been more delighted,” the dad added. “When he talked to Tom Holland, he was probably the most starstruck because that was a live call so that one certainly left an impression… His emotional recovery was really a worldwide effort and that was so special to us.”
Although Bridger’s face now looks better after all the surgeries, he needs to undergo more in the future.
“We still have a little bit more work to do on the superficial, redness part of it, but structurally everything looks so much better,” said Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali who offered to fly Bridger to his office in New York and provide treatment for free. “I always told Robert, ‘When Bridger’s in junior high or high school, I want this to be a story he tells, not a memory he has to relive every day.’ And I think we will have that situation,” the kind doctor added.
Other celebs who reached to Bridger, among the rest, are Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway.
For more on this heroic boy’s story go to the video below. What an awesome young man.