This week's heroes are 4 men in New Hampshire who paid attention when they heard a dog attacking a boy and jumped into action. One was a police officer, one was the uncle of the boy, and the other two were neighbors. Sadly, two of the heroes passed later in other incidents. They were all being honored in May 2026 in New Hampshire.
By Gabriel Perry Union Leader Staff May 26, 2026
Matthew Buchan was sitting in his room when he heard the commotion. A woman was running and yelling, “The dog’s got the boy!”
It was April 30, 2025, and that boy — 8-year-old Camden Mathieu — was under attack from two dogs on Lake Avenue in Manchester, New Hampshire. Buchan sprang into action, exiting his home, quickly identifying the ongoing struggle and intervening.
“I just leaped over the fence, I saw them chewing on him and I just leapt into action,” Buchan said. Despite suffering serious injuries to his hand during the altercation, Buchan likely saved Camden’s life.
“I saw tendons,” Buchan said. “I saw it all.”
Buchan, kicking at the two dogs to get them away from the boy, fell back onto his back and side.
“I couldn’t push myself up,” he said. “I saw his teeth, his eyes — that pit bull was coming for me.”
That’s when Eric Harnum, who Buchan described as his stepfather, jumped in, striking the pit bull with a shovel.
Camden suffered serious injuries during the attack, but survived.
On Thursday morning, Buchan and Harnum, along with Rob DeCesare of Nashua and Manchester Police Officer Gregory Levesque, will be honored as New Hampshire Heroes at the Rex Theatre in Manchester. Each spring, the New Hampshire Union Leader, in conjunction with Citizens Bank, honors residents who have risked their lives to save or attempt to save the life of another person during the previous year.
Harnum will be honored posthumously. He died in June 2025.
DeCesare will also be honored posthumously. He was killed while shielding others from gunfire during a shooting at Nashua’s Sky Meadow Country Club on Sept. 20, 2025.
Levesque is being honored for pulling a crash victim out of a burning car on Interstate 93 in Londonderry while he was off duty June 26, 2025.
After the attack
As Buchan walked back toward his house, Manchester Police arrived. He later went to a local hospital for treatment after experiencing pain as the adrenaline wore off. Still, he wasn’t concerned about himself, he said.
If it had been his child in that situation, he said, he hopes others would act the same.
“I went and saw (Camden) in the hospital,” Buchan said. They gifted the boy an Xbox and controllers among other things in the coming days. He still sees the child every once in a while.
“He’s my little buddy,” Buchan said. “I think he’s going to be my little buddy for life.”
Cathy Buchan, the longtime partner of Harnum, said he was a giving person and a good man who would offer the shirt off his back to someone in need.
“I’m amazed with them,” she said. “I saw my son getting mauled by a dog and I saw a little boy getting mauled by a dog. The noise was terrible. I’m very proud of them. What they did is remarkable.”
“Matt and Eric didn’t hesitate to go in there,” Cathy Buchan said. “I’m very proud of both of them.”
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