“Bit Me in the Back”: Michael Phelps’ Dad Had to Get Rid of Their Dog in Childhood to Save Swimming Legend and Family’s Life

Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian. With an innate talent for swimming, Phelps started training under legendary coach Bob Bowman at 11. Within a short time, Phelps was setting new records. At 15, Michael had already made it to the Olympics, and four years later, in Athens, Michael Phelps won 6 gold medals. Michael chronicled his journey in “Beneath the Surface: My Story”, originally published in 2004.

Besides writing about how he achieved Olympic glory, Michael also dedicated one chapter to near-fatal encounters. Phelps named the chapter “Close Calls”, and one instance he wrote about involved his family’s pet dog, Thadeus. The Olympian recounted how, after a horrific encounter, his father had to put down Tadeus.

Michael Phelps was lucky to be alive

Phelps began the story with Thadeus’ description. Michael recalled Thadeus was a white German Shepard and had a playful and friendly personality. Michael also recalled Thadeus loved to play with dolls. “He would shake them around, chew them up, toss them as far as he could across the pen and then race after them and start chewing again.”, wrote Phelps.

Most of the time, Michael’s elder sisters would feed Thadeus, and he was friendly with them. However, once Michael walked into the dog pen to feed the German Shepard. Michael was only three years old and was smaller in stature than his elder sisters. Thadeus mistook Michael for a doll. “He bit me in the back of the neck and started chewing. Then he tossed me from one end of the pen to the other.”, documented the Olympian.

Michael couldn’t break free, as the German Shepard was enormous compared to Michael. After Hilary’s screams alerted Michael’s dad, he ran to his son’s rescue. “Thadeus broke my skin in several places, but thankfully, he didn’t decide to take a piece out of my neck.”, wrote Phelps.

READ MORE: “Parental Warnings Didn’t Usually Stop Me”: Young Michael Phelps’ Rebellious Behavior Got Him Into a Lot of Troubles in Childhood

“My dad had Thadeus put down,” recounted Michael. Around the time of the incident, two raccoons had turned up dead near his house: “one from rabies and the other from distemper.” With all the disease going around, Fred didn’t want to risk Thadeus biting anyone again.

Another tryst with hard-luck

Over a decade later, before the World Aquatic Championships, Phelps had another close call. Before the competition, Phelps stubbed his toe while messing around with a wheel. His toe immediately swelled up and hurt every time he put pressure on it.

While the injury wasn’t close to being fatal, it could’ve derailed Michael’s career had it been more severe.

Watch this story: Here Are Exclusive Features of Michael Phelps’ Swim Spa – From Foot Therapy to Stress Reliever

Fred Phelps arrived in the nick of time to rescue Michael. It’s terrifying to imagine what would’ve happened if Fred hadn’t heard Hilary’s scream in time.