Posted on 03/23/2012 11:32:34 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A St. Petersburg dog is being called a hero for helping to save a 17-year-old girl from an attack.
The teen was volunteering for the Friends of Strays animal shelter on a Saturday afternoon, a few weeks ago.
As she walked down a path behind the building with Mabeline, a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, the girl was attacked.
Pinellas County deputies say Michael Bacon, a registered sexual predator, chased her down, grabbed her by the hair, then pinned her down.
The teen couldn't get loose, but the 38-pound dog did, scaring the attacker off, and allowing the girl to escape.
"To see something like that happen, it's just unfathomable," said Donna Thomas, from Friends of Strays, adding they've never had any problems before. "...a dog, its bark, its growl, and defending its owner, is always a deterrent."
But Mabeline, described as an "absolute sweetheart" is hardly what many think of as a guard dog.
Since the attack, she was adopted out.
The new owner, Mary Callahan, had no idea what her new four-legged friend had done, until 10 News told her.
"I looked at my dog and I thought you are a hero," Callahan explained.
It's a feisty side Callahan hasn't seen, but she's glad to have the extra protection.
"I like that. I like that a lot," she said.
The shelter said they are no longer allowing volunteers to walk dogs down the same path where the attack happened.
10 News also found out the attack victim couldn't adopt the dog herself because someone in the family is allergic.
Good dog.
Ridgies are VERY protective of their owners. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one bonded with the young lady.
The heck with that allergic family member! I would’ve kept a dog that saved my life.
Ridgies are tough, fearless, devoted dogs. They’ll give their lives defending their families. Boer farmers bred them as lion hunters.
And they’re beautiful, too!
http://www.akc.org/breeds/rhodesian_ridgeback/
No doubt. They're friendly, as is typical with hound breeds, but they'll shred those who threaten the people they love.
She use to love when we went through a drive-through, she knew she would get her chicken nuggets, but thats another thing that she developed an allergy to in her old age...
Good doggie!
I miss my Ridgeback mix. He was a wonderful dog, but 38 lbs. is nothing compared to him. That sucker was closer to 100 lbs.
He used to lay on the kitchen floor...smack in the middle as we prepared dinner. Had to step over him. Sound asleep.
We would laugh at the four foot long dog in the tiny six foot spance between the stove, and the prep counter, and the sink. Thirty-six sq. ft of floor space in the working area of the kitchen, and that dog had to sleep under foot everytime we were making a meal.
Had he been any other dog we might have had some tendency to make him go elsewhere, but we loved that old dog so much we let him run all over us. Shouldn’t have, but we did. He was great. A huge bundle of Love. A real hugger too.
Yea, if you got rid of the cats than who would there be to... uh... sleep all day.
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