Family dog killed while protecting family from intruder
“He died in my arms, he died protecting us,” William Daniels says about his family’s dog, Rusty.
POLOKWANE – The Jack Russel had been part of the Daniels family for the past three years but was stabbed to death during an attempted robbery recently.
“We woke up at about 23:30 with Rusty barking as he never had before. I walked from window to window to see why he was so upset but could not see anything and went back to bed,” Daniels says.
Daniels says at 03:00, Rusty started barking again but that this time it sounded as if he was in a fight with another dog and he decided to go outside to see why the dog was so agitated.
“I expected to see another dog fighting with Rusty but instead saw a man in the yard and Rusty was biting his leg. I shouted at the man to get out of my yard but as he turned towards the gate he took something out of his pocket. The man gave one last kick and then I saw him bend down towards the dog.”
Daniels says he heard Rusty make a moaning sound as the man ran out of the gate and disappeared down the street.
“I shouted to my wife to call the police and ran to pick Rusty up. I only realised inside the house that he had been stabbed. He died in my arms.”
It is believed Rusty was barking earlier because he had seen the intruder and possibly scared the man off the first time. “Maybe the man came back later knowing that he would not be successful with the dog giving away his plans. Perhaps he brought the weapon to protect himself against the dog or maybe he had it all along and intended to kill someone, I don’t know. I just hope he pays for what he has done,” Daniels says.
Polokwane Police Spokesperson, WO Lesiba Ramoshaba, could not confirm at the time of going to print if a case had been opened but urges residents to get involved with their Community Policing Forums(CPF) and be part of those who join hands with the police to fight crime in the city.
riana@nmgroup.co.za
