Boy Bitten by Shark in Florida

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Last year, Garrett Gollihugh took the movie Jaws to Florida for an annual family vacation.

Last week, the 11-year-old left the movie at home in Sunbury and lived it instead.

Garrett, 11, didn’t see the shark coming as he stood in knee-high water about 10 feet from the shore near Cocoa Beach. His sister, Hannah, stood nearby.

“It bit me once, bit me again, bit me a third time and held on,” Garrett said. “I screamed ‘Shark!’ “

Garrett’s father, Gary, scooped up his son while Hannah, 12, ran to call 911.

He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was treated and released that night. His mother, Joyce, said he was well enough to celebrate his birthday with a movie the next day.

Garrett was lucky.

Although the shark chomped on his left foot three times and nicked his right one, he was told by a doctor at Nationwide Children’s Hospital who saw him this week that he’ll be OK.

“The doctor said it looks fine, it’s really nothing,” Garrett said. “And he said I shouldn’t complain about it.”

Doctors in Florida told Garrett that a 6-foot shark, probably a bull or lemon, caused the bite marks on his feet.

At least 96 unprovoked shark attacks have been confirmed in Brevard County, where the Gollihugh family vacations. Worldwide, about four people die of shark attacks each year, said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida.

The number of attacks usually rises and falls with the number of tourists in Florida.

Experts say sharks usually confuse humans for other animals and quickly back off after tasting their mistake.

“In our modern world, where we essentially have come to the conclusion that we rule the earth and that everything is at our fingertips, the thought that any animal would have the audacity to attack us or cause us harm runs counter to our ego or outlook,” Burgess said.

Garrett, wearing an Ohio State T-shirt and lounging in his living room yesterday, seemed nonchalant as he retold the story. His stitches were removed yesterday, his foot is wrapped and he’s using crutches to get around.

He could be back at school as soon as today.