Dog foils armed robbery, saves owner’s life

Dogs are certainly among the most devoted of all creatures, although most owners are glad not to have occasion to test the true strength of the canine-human bond.

One North Carolina man has been left in no doubt of that fierce loyalty, however, after discovering that his adored pooch would literally leap in front of a flying bullet for him.

When Anthony Lane won $140 on some scratch-off lottery tickets late Monday night at the convenience store across the street from his home, he naturally assumed it was his lucky day.

Unfortunately for the 41-year-old, someone else had an eye on his windfall.

Lane told WCET that he thinks someone followed him after seeing him leave the store with the winnings.

He was halfway up the path to his house in Wilmington when a man approached him from behind, yelled “give me that!” and started firing shots.

On hearing the noise, Lane’s 12-year-old dog Skyler bolted out of the house and across the yard in pursuit of his owner’s assailant.

“He did what he was supposed to do … he ran towards it instead of running from it. He saved my life, I was dead. That bullet grazed me and I fell on the ground trying to get away. I was stuck on the ground. I would have been dead if he had another chance to shoot at me,” Lane said.

In a measure of the ferocity of the attack, shots were also fired into Lane’s home.

One bullet landed on a couch where two people were sitting. Another became lodged in an inside wall.

Skyler successfully saw off the attacker, but not before being shot four times.

The canine hero is thankfully expected to survive, although one of his legs may have to be amputated.

“When I seen my dog was shot, it was to find him. Get him. It was no doubt that at that point the only thing I could think about was ‘you just basically shot my kid.’ He’s my only kid. You shot something that is very valuable to me,” Lane said.

Skyler underwent surgery yesterday, while Lane said he was thankful for local community support and a crowdsourcing fund set up by his niece to help pay for treatment.

Crazy America wishes this most valiant of pooches the speediest of recoveries.