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Dale Killingbeck

Wyoming Life

Around Wyoming

Bridger Walker says not all of his sixth-grade schoolmates at Cheyenne Classical Academy are aware of the incident five years ago that led to an 

 actor Tom Holland on a movie set and nearly yearly opportunities to hug and high-five boxing legends at the World Boxing Council.

This fall, plans call for him to be on stage with his dad at a conference for the security industry in Dallas, and there may be opportunities to speak at Wyoming schools about the “superpowers” that everyone has.

An action figure modeled after him may be coming in the future.

Family friend Bo Jackson, a former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL and Major League Baseball star — or just “Uncle Bo” to Bridger — still calls him up regularly.

But he’s fine with going to school, playing with his dog, and working on martial arts.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"“I’m just a normal boy,” he said."}]

The 11-year-old who likes history and gym class just wants to enjoy life like any other sixth-grader.

and the opportunities that keep coming because of his courage as a 6-year-old to stand in front of a charging, vicious dog and protect his then 4-year-old sister, Brielle, from an attack.

The result was 90 stitches to his face, plastic surgeries and a turning point in his life that continues to take him places.

His story made international headlines and accolades as a hero, a title he’s not that comfortable with. 

His aunt wrote about his plight on social media after the attack in July 2020 and his name quickly became known as well as his quote: “If someone had to die, I thought it should be me.”

“I think as far as the dog attack, it’s something he doesn’t really think about anymore,” said Robert Walker, Bridger’s dad. “And I think all the positives he got out of it, I think he recognizes it’s part of his story and what’s made him who he is.

"And I don’t think he’d turn back the clock to change it if he could, because he’s seen the good that’s come from it.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Life Has ‘Changed’"}]

Bridger seems to agree, noting that his life “changed quite a bit” after the encounter in a friend’s yard.

“I would have missed out on a lot of these fun things that we’ve done like these trips,” he said. “And I wouldn’t be able to have my dog that I have right now, and I just wouldn’t be able to have had all these cool experiences.”

The trips included three weeks in Thailand after an invitation by the World Boxing Council and Tourism Authority of Thailand to attend a Muay Thai training camp for three weeks in July 2024. He attended with his brother.

“I really liked the trip to Thailand, and it helped me a lot because we learned Muay Thai and it was really cool there, because they had all the beaches,” he said. “I was able to do stuff and kind of get out the hotel and learn about the country, because we went on some history tours.”

Last December, the family was invited to a boxing convention in Germany, and he had fun while meeting with boxers and young Germans. They gave out baseball hats and beanies.

One of the next things could be an action figure modeled after Bridger.

A company contacted the family and told them they want to create an action-figure toy that is based on Bridger as an adult.

 the family wrote and published in 2024 titled “You Can Be a Hero” tells the story of the 2020 event from his sister Brielle’s point of view.

Their goal was to communicate with children about civics and virtues and the “superpowers” that each youngster possesses.

“Bridger did a big thing, but the world’s news cycles come and go,” Robert Walker said. “Yes, he’s brave, but he has to always be brave and what good does bravery do if you are not kind? And what good does kindness do if you’re not proactive and out there doing your best?

"So, that’s really what our motive for the book was, to us kind of a greater means to share a positive message.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Positive Message’"}]

They have had a couple presentations at schools in the past and at Rotary Clubs and they hope to be able to schedule more presentations at schools in the coming school year.

Then there is the upcoming security conference for private agencies that provide protection for celebrities and politicians.

The Walkers have been asked to be keynote speakers.

“Typically, Bridger will come and a lot of times he’ll bring his dog and show kids that just because something bad happens, doesn’t mean you have to be afraid of it,” Robert Walker said. “At the end, he will challenge everybody.

"He calls it his ‘Bridger Challenge.’ When he got hurt, he got so much positivity sent his way. It made such a big difference in this life. And his challenge is find somebody that might be struggling and do something kind for them.”

Bridger’s dog, a pit bull named Cyborg, was presented to him by MMA fighter Cris Cyborg and was sired by a dog that was hit with grenade shrapnel protecting a family’s home in the Ukraine.

Bridger’s mom, Teila Walker, said he has done a good job teaching her tricks and “making sure she waits for her dinner.” 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"“She’s very well behaved,” she said."}]

Robert Walker said they have tried to instill values in their five children about how an act of kindness or giving can change a life.

He believes Bridger’s experience with the attack that led to all the opportunities is not just about receiving.

“For everything that we’ve received, we really felt that motive — and tried to teach Bridger —you almost have that obligation to give back,” he said.

After his incident, Bridger reached out to another Cheyenne boy mauled by a dog and gave him a iPad that he bought with his own money for him for Christmas. Bridger said an iPad helped him during his recovery, and he thought it would do the same for the other boy.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"New Directions"}]

A New York City dermatologist who learned of Bridger’s story treated him with laser technology for free.

When the mother whose college-age daughter was attacked and mauled by a dog learned of their story, she contacted the Walkers.

The Walkers were able to connect her and her daughter with the same New York dermatologist who treated Bridger.

The daughter later graduated from medical school and chose dermatology as her specialty. She did her residency with same doctor who treated her and Bridger.

“So, this girl’s life is now completely redirected in a new direction to helping kids like Bridger, who have scars that need to be treated,” Robert Walker said.

After the word got out that Bridger was a rockhound, the family for a time got so much mail from people that the Post Office delivered it with their own mail truck filled with rocks, Robert Walker said.

Many of them have been passed on to the University of Wyoming for a display using Bridger’s name. Bridger also donated duplicate rocks to a display to raise funds for the Cheyenne young man who endured the dog mauling.

“And that’s really what a superhero is, it’s being there for somebody when they’re in need and using your virtues to bless their lives,” Robert Walker said.

Robert Walker said the 11-year-old and his sister remain close but have typical brother-sister issues on occasion.

Bridger agrees that his jiujitsu training was a factor in protecting his sister.

“I think that one of the reasons I got in the way is just kind of it was muscle memory, and I just wanted to keep her safe,” he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Martial Arts"}]

Since the Muay Thai camp, he continues to pursue martial arts and hopes to compete “here and there.”

Mainly he continues the training because “it’s kind of fun and just so I can protect myself and other people in the future.”

In 2020, the World Boxing Council created a new weight class next to its heavyweight class and named it “

.” The World Boxing Association also adopted the weight class in 2023.

But the weight of celebrity is not an issue for the 11-year-old. His dad said he has stayed humble about it all.

What would he like people to understand about his life now?

“Everything is going good, and everything is OK,” he said. “We’re just moving on, and I’m going to school.”

Contact Dale Killingbeck at dale@cowboystatedaily.com

Bridger and Brielle closeup 9 7 25

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>🚧 5 Years After Saving Sister From Dog Attack, Bridger Walker Likes Being A ‘Normal Boy' | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Bridger Walker of Cheyenne was 6 in 2020 when he made international headlines for rescuing his younger sister from a vicious dog attack. Five years later, he’s now 11 and likes just being a “normal boy” — who calls Bo Jackson "Uncle Bo" and may just have an action figure modeled after him.

5 Years After Saving Sister From Dog Attack, Bridger Walker Likes Being A ‘Normal Boy'

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Monday’s full moon over Wyoming won’t be just full, it will appear huge in the night sky, a rare time when the first full moon of August is also a blue supermoon.

The first full moon in August is also called a sturgeon or mountain shadows moon, and Monday will be the first of four consecutive supermoons to close out 2024.

Supermoons happen when "the moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth," according to NASA. When that happens, the moon can appear up to 30% brighter and 14% larger than usual given their position in the sky, usually close to the horizon.

Monday’s is also the first and only full moon of August, so how can a supermoon also be a blue moon? 

The short answer is calendar quirks. The long answer is a bit more complicated and less colorful. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Once In A Blue Moon (Times Two)"}]

There are technically two types of blue moons. The better-known is the second full moon in one month, according to the Gregorian calendar. 

But there are also seasonal blue moons, and the third of four full moons in a single season is a blue moon. The Aug. 19 supermoon is the third full moon of summer 2024, making it a seasonal blue moon. And because it’s the first full moon of August it’s a sturgeon moon (named for the fish). And also it’s within 90% of the closest it’ll get to Earth, making it a supermoon.

If that's confusing, join the club. Even Max Gilbraith, the planetarium coordinator for the University of Wyoming, wasn't familiar with the concept of a seasonal blue moon. 

"I've never really encountered it," he said. "But this will be the third full moon of an astronomical season that has four full moons. I don't know why it's just the third moon is the blue moon, but I'm sure that there's some reason for it."

Despite the occurrence of four full moons in one season, only the third moon is the blue moon. The fourth full moon isn't anything noteworthy, although it will be another supermoon in September. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Calendar Quirks"}]

Gilbraith wasn't familiar with a seasonal blue moon because it's a chronological phenomenon rather than an astronomical one.

"There are meteorological seasons and astronomical seasons," he said. "Meteorological seasons are adjusted for latitude and climate, whereas astronomical seasons are determined by the equinox or solstice." 

Lunar calendars could be as old as civilization itself, with archaeological evidence suggesting that humans used the moon as a time-measuring tool as far back as 30,000 years ago. 

Julius Caesar was the progenitor of the modern solar calendar, developing it in 46 B.C. It was used for 1,600 years until Pope Gregory XIII modified it in 1582, creating the Gregorian calendar used worldwide today. 

Gilbraith said the quirks of the Gregorian calendar are good for blue moons. The calendar's blue moons have nothing to do with the astronomical aspects of the moon. 

"It doesn't create any physical phenomena that you can observe," he said. "It's just a timekeeping sort of happenstance. It might be fun for superstitious reasons, but it's just an artifact of timekeeping."

Ironically, "once in a blue moon" isn't as special as the idiom would suggest. Nevertheless, there are some fun facts about the upcoming sturgeon moon. 

NASA said August's full moon will be so super that it should appear full for three days between Sunday night and Wednesday morning. 

Furthermore, it's a rare super blue moon, which only happens every 10 to 20 years. 

While the next seasonal blue moon will occur in May 2027, the next super blue moon will not occur until January 2037. So, put that on your Gregorian calendar.

For the record, "once in a blue moon" averages out to once every two or three years. That's slightly more frequent than a leap day, one of the important quirks of the Julian calendar that endured into the Gregorian calendar. 

[{"type":"text","text":"The Minute Summer Stops"}]

According to his astronomical calendar, Gilbraith said that Wyoming's summer will officially end in the early hours of Sept. 22.

"Our terminal equinox is at 6:43 a.m. Mountain Time on Sept. 22," he said. "That is the official end of summer for everyone in Wyoming to the minute, so no tree leaves are allowed to come down until then."

The final full moon of this summer's seasonal blue moons will rise Sept. 17, putting it within the final days of the season. So, Wyomingites should savor this summer's sturgeon super blue moon while they can.

[{"type":"text","text":"And no, the moon won't literally be blue when it rises Monday."}]

Super moon

<title>🚧 Rare Super Blue Moon Will Look Huge Over Wyoming On Monday | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The calendar has conspired to make Monday’s full moon pretty rare. It also will be a supermoon, which means it will look huge, and also is a blue moon and something called a sturgeon moon, like the fish.

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