WOULD YOU? NOT EVERYONE IS A DONNIE
‘Remember, he didn’t have to be in there’ Ruth
RUTH: They say superheroes don’t always wear capes – and in Donnie Wiseman’s case, that was so true. Donnie, 48, is a construction worker from Kaysville, Utah, who was on a zoo tour with his family to celebrate a niece’s fifth birthday.
All was going well, until a keeper attempted to feed one of the alligators. So eager was this huge reptile for food, that it decided to have its snack and the keeper’s arm as well. The horrific event was being filmed by Donnie’s wife, Theresa. Amazingly, she continued to film as her husband jumped into the enclosure to save the reptile handler.
A wrestling match ensued, but the keeper got away, leaving poor Donnie straddling the huge predator. Remember, he didn’t have to be in there and we would all have to ask ourselves, would we have done the same? Theresa continued to film and her video, unsurprisingly, went viral. More importantly, our hero of the hour managed to evade the gator’s teeth and also made his escape.
Can you imagine the conversation afterwards between husband and wife?! ‘Why did you jump in there?’
‘Why did you continue to film and not go for help?’
The main thing is, everybody lived to tell the tale and the birthday kids didn’t miss their cake. As for the massive reptile, perhaps its name should have been enough to scare everyone off – Darth Gator. As for future themed birthday parties, it’s going to take a lot to top that! Eamonn and I were lucky enough to interview the Wisemans. So unassuming was Donnie that he couldn’t see anything very special about what he did. ‘Wouldn’t anybody?’ he said. No, Donnie. They wouldn’t. As Theresa looked on at him, it was obvious she knew her ordinary guy was something very special.