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EAST LONDON (UK) —
An Amalinda
neighborhood has recently fallen prey to a rampage of armed robberies,
break-ins and one rape, all of which were allegedly perpetrated by the
same gang of marauders. But this time, the gun-wielding intruders
were stopped short by a mutt with an unstoppable "rugby tackle".
Celeste Shellard, a 63-year-old widow who
lives alone in Amalinda, says that this is not the first time the gang has
attacked her, nor is it the first time she has been saved by "Ricki",
her faithful dog. According to Ms. Shellard, quoted in the Dispatch
Online, the burglars broke into her home for the fourth time
on Friday. The tough lady, who has learned to carry a firearm, was
prepared to defend herself but was compromised when one man fired shots
and then put a gun to her head.
That's when Ricki sprang into
action. Although the dog knows how to bite, this time she used her
"best move": charging the attacker and taking him down
forcefully by "putting her legs around him and causing
panic." Ms. Shellard then
followed through by firing shots at the assailants.
"I was shooting, and they were
shooting at me," she said. "It looked like a cowboy
movie."
Outmatched by the wild-west widow and her
projectile pooch, the attackers fled the scene. Police responded
from the nearest station at Cambridge and arrived a half hour later, but
they were unable to pick up the trail of the attackers.
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"Go ahead... MEET MY
DOG."
Don't mess with Clint Eastwood, Celeste Shellard or Ricki. (Photo: Phillip
Nothnagel / Dispatch Online)
One may wonder what stirs up such fierce
loyalty in a 50lb. pooch like Ricki. Perhaps it is that she herself
knows what it's like to be brought back from the brink of death.
"Ricki was rescued from a squatter
camp," Ms. Shellard told reporters. "She had mange, wire
around her mouth and neck and a piece of wood tied to her leg."
Now a year and eight months old, the
punchy black dog has become the guardian of the house. She even
watches over the cats.
Says Ms. Shellard: "SPCA dogs are
the best."
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