Cannelton man thankful stray Bullet
forces amputation
By Bernie
Peterson
Last Friday night started
out like any other for 34 year-old Cannelton resident Tom Lester. After
getting off work from his job with the Perry County highway department, Lester
cashed his paycheck at the local Thrifty Way and picked up a 12-pack of Old
Milwaukee’s Best on his way to former brother-in-law Curt Williamson’s house for
a few games of darts.
Then his usual weekend
routine was thrown off by a terrible stroke of bad luck.
As Lester was walking up
Williamson’s drive, he encountered in his words “the meanest dog north of the
Ohio River,” neighbor Amos Kemp’s bloodhound Bullet.
Bullet, usually locked
away in his kennel unless accompanying Kemp on a hunting trip, had somehow
escaped and was roaming free around the neighborhood.
Lester was in the wrong
place at the wrong time.
As soon as Bullet saw
Lester walking up to the house, he ran up and bit Lester on the thigh and would
not let go.
Lester, a self-proclaimed
animal lover but surprised by the attack, began hitting Bullet with the
half-case of beer, hoping to dislodge the dog from his leg.
Bullet did release
Lester’s leg, but things took a turn for the worse when Bullet clamped down
again, this time squarely on Lester’s groin.
Lester fell to the ground,
writhing in pain, and was unable to break the bloodhound’s hold on him. It
wasn’t until several minutes later after turning off the TV when “Mama’s Family”
was over did Amos Kemp hear the screams. He came out of his trailer and
commanded Bullet to let go.
But it was too late. The
damage had already been done.
Ambulances rushed Lester
to Perry County Hospital in Tell City, where doctors tried everything in their
power to save his mangled member and testicles.
After thirteen hours of
surgery with no success, they were forced to amputate. Tim Lester’s genitalia
were gone forever.
“It is hard to cope with
sometimes,” says Lester, “All my friends call me ‘The Human Ken Doll’ which gets
old but I am not bitter—it was all part of God’s plan for me.”
Lester believes the attack
by Bullet was God’s way of telling him to clean up his act and live right.
“All my wiener has ever
done is get me in trouble. I have five kids by four different women and only
one was my wife. By the time child support is taken out of my check each week,
I can barely get by. Plus I can’t count the times I have had to go to the
doctor over the years to get treated for the clap. Someone up there must be
looking out for me.”
Lester now passes his time
in more productive ways.
“I have really gotten into
gardening. I enjoy watching the seeds I plant in the spring grow into beautiful
flowers and plants. It really is a miracle.”
Luckily for the other
citizens of Cannelton, those are the only seeds Lester will be spreading from
now on.
