Posted on 04/15/2009 6:28:08 AM PDT by meandog
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- The wandering 65-pound Pit Bull mix might have seemed menacing to some passerby, but one woman will always remember him as her "guardian angel."
The dog, which authorities think is lost and not a stray, successfully thwarted a robbery attack on a mother and her 2-year-old son, who were held at knifepoint Monday afternoon.
The Florida woman, who has been identified by authorities simply as "Angela," was leaving a playground with her toddler son in Port Charlotte when a man approached her in the parking lot with a knife and told her not to make any noise or sudden movements.
Angela didn't have to do either to protect herself and her child -- a dog mysteriously ran to the scene and charged the man, who quickly fled.
"I don't think the dog physically attacked the man, but he went at him and was showing signs of aggression, just baring his teeth and growling and barking. It was clear he was trying to defend this woman," Animal Control Lt. Brian Jones told Pet Pulse.
"I don't know what this man's intentions were, but it is very possible this dog saved her life."
The exceptional part of the story, Jones said, is that the dog had never met or even seen the people it quickly jumped to defend.
"You hear about family dogs protecting their owners, but this dog had nothing to do with this woman or her kid," Jones said. "He was like her guardian angel."
After the alleged thief ran away, Angela quickly placed her son, Jordan, in the car and tried to drive off. Before she could, though, the dog jumped into her backseat, waiting with her for the police and animal control officers to arrive at the scene.
The dog was transported to a local shelter and if his owners don't step forward within five days, Jones said, Angela and her family plan to adopt the savior she named "Angel."
Animal control officers and shelter workers believe Angel is lost, and not a stray, because of his good health, sturdy weight and mild temperament.
"It's funny, that someone's irresponsibility could have saved someone's life," Jones said of Angel's possible owners.
For Angela, it doesn't matter where the dog came from, just that he was there when she needed him most.
"I don't know what his [the thief's] intentions were -- I don't know why he did it, but I'm glad that -- we call him Angel -- I'm glad that Angel showed up because I don't know what would have happened," Angela told NBC2 News.
For a small town with a population of 46,452, animal control officers were kept busy Monday afternoon. Jones says they department also responded to a report about a boa constrictor in a church parking lot.
The snake found its way into a car engine and was able to be removed without being harmed. It took three people to move the massive, seemingly random placed snake.
"It's funny, because we aren't a big place," he said of the Gulf Coast town. "And we can go for four or five months without the media contacting us about a story. It's been a busy week."
Officers from the responding county sheriff's office canvased the area and were unable to locate the suspect described as being in his 20s, tall and dark haired.
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Pet Pulse reporter Amy Lieberman and NBC-2.com contributed to this article.
LIE
LIE
No lie. Rotts and pitts are 1-2 in causing human deaths among dog breeds.
Maybe if more word gets out about these dogs there will be fewer irresponsible killer dog owners.
Because it was a nice thread telling a sweet story.
I dont know what your definition of “often” is
but when I compare - the dozen or so deaths a year
of which...oh idk...maybe NONE... are due to the dogs
‘testing the pack authority to move up the social ladder”
- to the millions of these dogs out there...
Then yes I could call ‘often’ a LIE, but that is probably too unkind,
more likely it is a statement by an uninformed knee-jerk reactionary
on a self-aggrandizing moral crusade who has no regard for the facts.
Maybe if word got out about these irresponsible dog owners and the mistakes they made
then perhaps more people would become aware of what is required for responsible ownership
and there would be less deaths and attacks.
You want to focus on the dog as the problem,
to stigmatize all dogs of a breed as killers.
I want to focus on education, personal responsibility and accountability,
in conjuction with effective laws that are rigorously enforced
all of which are essential regardless of the breed of dog a person owns.
You should be ashamed of yourself for suggesting the poster is doing that
but that would require a shred of decency and honor on your part
and I've seen no indication of either from you.
AWESOME!
That’s why I asked. According to Chet99, pitbulls are only capable of one thing.
I believe you are confusing the physiology of dogs being like humans. Dogs attack only for one of three reasons: They are hungry, they are threatened, they wish to establish dominance. Take those senses by training and, in the case of hunger, feeding and they never attack unless, of course, you have a "redzone" (mentally disturbed) dog on you hands.
When you read about so-called PBT attacks it is because the dog sensed either fear on another animal or human, or it sensed fear in itself and its flight or fight adrenal gland kicked in (actually there is no flight in a PBT's adrenal gland). Competent owners of PBTs harness their dog's sense of fear and calm it; using it only to protect their home or property. Incompetent owners can't.
I won't tell you a lie and say that so-called PBTs are easily trained; they are not and I don't do it any more because I'm too old and tired to devote the time and patience to train a new puppy. Besides dog breeds to me are exactly like going to the Miss America Pageant and knowing that you could have your pick--I love them all!
Sooo......
Pitbulls are like Capone and Hitler, now?
FRiend, you need to stay away from that crack pipe.
Pitbulls are what their owners make them to be; nothing more.
His posts speak for themselves.
Wonderful story.
Not sure I would give “Angel” back to his ‘people’ since they didn’t watch him that good.
God sends the right ‘person’ for the job. :)
I was trying to find the Life Magazine of the young Melanie Griffith laying in bed with a tiger.
Yeah, tiger aren’t bad to have, it’s the people that raise them
I took in a stray schnauzer when I lived in TX. Actually, I think he was dumped in our neighborhood by people who didn’t want him any more for one reason, or another. He was a Standard, I think, but I thought he was a mini at the time. My son (who worked at the Dog Wash) kept telling me he was “too tall” to be a mini.
In any case, Woofie would always try to get out in opposition of our strict leash laws. I think he enjoyed seeing everybody try to chase him down — enjoyed the attention. One day he slipped away when no one was looking.
When my husband drove around the corner he encountered Woofie on his back in the middle of the street engaged in the battle of the century with a much larger Golden/mutt cross on top of him. Blood was flying.
My husband stopped his car in the middle of the street and grabbed the Schnauzer out of the grip of the larger dog and raced to the house with the pup dripping in blood. I opened the door and he charged into the kitchen and put him in the sink to clean him up and see how bad his injuries were.
He washed that little stinker and examined him all over, and there was not a mark on him. The blood was all FROM THE OTHER DOG!
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