A Plano woman is crediting a group of high school cheerleaders for saving her seven-pound dog from a mauling at a local park.
Stacy Yarbrough said a normal walk in Bob Woodruff Park for her and her three dogs in the first week of August turned into the fight of their lives.
A larger dog wiggled out of its leash and came charging toward her Chinese crested dog, Olive.
"It happened so fast," Yarbrough said. "She was being killed in front of my face. He was killing her."
The park was full, but people did not immediately come to break up the fight, she said.
But something unexpected happened when Yarbrough feared she had lost the battle to save her dog.
"I looked down and I saw feet -- and it was girls," she said. "It was seconds from him crushing her head."
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The strangers separated the animals, allowing Yarbrough to scoop up Olive.
The attacking dog then turned on her other two pets and even lunged at Yarbrough, trying to knock Olive from her arms.
In her panic to get Olive to emergency care to treat what turned out to be massive internal injuries, Yarbrough realized she never properly said thank you to the Good Samaritans who came to her aid.
Yarbrough began putting up posters around the park and even wrote letters to the editors of local newspapers.
From her efforts, came a tip -- that the people responsible for saving Olive's life were teen girls -- members of the Plano East cheerleading squad.
The cheerleaders met with Yarbrough on Wednesday at the same spot in the park where fate brought them together.
Mackenzie Frazier, a junior, said while they feel their efforts were small, it obviously made a big difference.
"It really shows what small acts of kindness can do for someone," she said.
Frazier said she thought about her own puppy at home when she saw Olive in distress, although she's always been advised against getting in between fighting animals.
Yarbrough dressed Olive in a miniature Plano East cheer uniform that she had made in honor of her rescuers, a way of expressing her gratitude.
Despite her injuries, Olive has made a full recovery.
