20 minutes later Police were astounded when they arrived to find an unexpected sight. When the family rescued pit bull face-to-face encountered the alleged burglar who entered a residence.
The majority of people protect their homes with either a security system or defensive weapons. However, both of these ideas came neatly packaged in a furry, four-legged companion for Pennsylvania homeowner Leroy Rucker.
The 9-year-old friendly pitbull who is well-loved by his entire community turned into a protector the moment he saw unwelcoming guests entering his owner’s house.
The incident as Rucker recalled he said, “I was just sitting in here watching TV with the dogs like I always do.”
Apparently, a strange man who was intending to commit a robbery knocked at the door in Rucker’s Altoona home. Rucker then heard the knock when he was relaxing with his dog but before he could even open the door, the man stormed inside the house.
But little did the man know that Rucker had lovingly adopted Spuds, a 9-year-old rescue dog, into his home, and he wasn’t about to let anyone damage his family. The man who was identified as 53-year-old Robert Burke Jr. who entered Rucker’s house without permission quickly met the owner’s cherished pit bull.
“He wasn’t going to just walk in my house uninvited. I don’t know you like that buddy. Spuds didn’t like it either,” Rucker said.
When Spuds saw his beloved owner, Rucker, square up to the intruder, Spuds was then moved to join in the action, as Rucker engaged Burke, trying to gain an advantage over the man. Rucker said, “He was coming to hang out with dad. That’s all I can say. He sees me fighting, he wants to fight.”
Burke had no issues fighting Rucker, but he wasn’t willing to risk his life against a protective pit bull. He immediately stopped the skirmish and submitted when he realized Spuds was prepared to fight.
“The guy (Burke) listened. I mean, he listened better when the dog was right there present, you know what I mean,” said Rucker.
Rucker shared that Spuds helped contain the intruder for over 20 minutes before the cops finally arrived.
Burke was peacefully submitting in the center of the living room when the police arrived, which shocked them. The house invader was restrained by Spuds so that his owner could call the police.
Spuds have formed a bond with the community and even local garbagemen. “I’m a garbageman. I deal with dogs every day — five or six days a week — but Spuds is very protective of his family. He knows good and bad, and that’s what dogs are supposed to do,” Steven Rightenour said.
After his heroic attempt, the dog has turned from man’s best friend to man’s best protector. The proud owner, Leroy Rucker said that for him, it might be an act of protection, but for Rucker it was love.
Sources: Taphaps, WJAC-TV, latintimes
