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.
Tell us what you think about "Stray Dog Saves Woman, Child Held at Knifepoint" below. Share your favorite videos by clicking on the ZootooTV tab. Send us your story ideas by e-mailing us at news@zootoo.com or by calling us at 877-777-4204.
Pet Pulse reporter Amy Lieberman and NBC-2.com contributed to this article.
>Caution is never a bad thing...<
Amen. The “great family pet” in my childhood neighborhood killed other families’ small pets multiple times. She also fought constantly with other dogs in the neighborhood (this was over 40 years ago, when people tended to have dogs roaming free). I’ve seen 5 or 6 boxers attack and bite a workman multiple times when he went into their fenced area. They did immediately back off when confronted by someone for whom they had respect.
Boxers are good family pets when they are trained and owned by responsible people. They can definitely be dangerous when in a free-running pack.
Of course that paper boy brought a board, went to where you had the dog chained/penned and started hitting the dog for no reason, right?
And with a pit or rott it often results in death to the human.
I don't deny that fact, nor the fact that their fighting is extremely brutal and vicious...I do deny that PBTs ARE ALWAYS the aggressor dog. Often, the PBT has been provoked by another dog. As far as your ex's parents' Chow-Chow, it was bred specifically by the Chinese as a war dog to stop by "heeling" fleeing troops (either the emperor's or the enemy's) and as a current owner of a Chow, I don't allow it to be around children or others it believes it can dominate--around me, it is the sweetest dog I've ever owned. I also have two other dogs (you can guess what they are) that I also won't allow around guests. There are others I do...
In my lifetime I have known an estimated 30 or so family pets (all of them were trained by my late step-father who was the founding member of my local American Kennel Club and one of the most accomplished animal trainers I have ever known). We have had so-called pitbulls (masquerading as purebred Bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers and American Bulldogs). The most people-aggressive dogs I have ever known, however, were a pure black German Shepard bitch and, believe it or not, a Pomeranian.
Neither the Rotty or the so-called PBT are capable of moving up the social ladder and causing death as puppies, nor are they as adult dogs in the hands of capable trainer/owners.
That's what my ex father-in-law thought. Now he owns the scars but not the chow.
The problem is that many that get these dogs are not capable. As puppies they are cute but when the hormones start kicking in ...
Want do you want to do ?
outlaw Pits and other dogs that kill kids and other folks?
gonna be a long list...
Want do you want to do ?
outlaw Pits and other dogs that kill kids and other folks?
gonna be a long list...
Want do you want to do ?
outlaw Pits and other dogs that kill kids and other folks?
gonna be a long list...
PUTZ
Commandment #1
Thou shalt NEVER trust thy Pit Bull not to fight.
Oh. Then I have to go with the other scenario. Paper boy defends himself from un-restrained, barking and biting dog ....
I never said that. You are just striking back with that since you can't handle the truth being put up.
Now that I’v said what I really think, I will tell you that you are correct on some minor points. The guy came into our yard with a stick and hit the dog, who was not barking or acting out in any way. My father was in the side yard and the kid did not see him until it was too late.
PB Haters are of the same class as anti-gun nuts.
“Paper boy defends himself from un-restrained, barking and biting dog ....”
You would make a great journalist...let’s make up some facts, his don’t fit my opinion. Truth be damned.
Strange ... Why would a kid risk his life by randomly coming into your yard and hitting your well-behaved dog?
Well, your ex-inlaw shouldn't have owned a dog he couldn't dominate. I don't know the situation; perhaps he was enabling the Chow's bad behavior, perhaps actually encouraging it. In any scenario he shouldn't get a powerful breed that he couldn't handle. Me, I love Chow-Chows and mine knows her place in MY pack.
You obviously are giving me all the facts so I put out one scenario that fit your initial posting. You didn't like that one so I put out another. I am not reporting on what happened but offering up possible scenarios for you to comment on.
Ping to a Chetless Pitbull thread
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