CONNEAUT, Ohio -- A German Shepherd named Sirus is credited with saving his family after a terrifying home invasion.
Sirus' owner said he always lets her know when someone shows up at her home outside Conneaut in Ashtabula County.
Michelle Pryor said early Monday morning Sirus began barking so she let him out and was stunned when she heard gunfire outside the home.
Sirus got shot in the chest and on the muzzle between his eyes.
As the dog lay wounded, Michelle hid her baby daughter in a laundry basket and alerted her fiance, who grabbed his gun.
The gunman kicked in the front door of the home and was confronted by Pryor's fiance.
She said, "He grabbed his gun and just started shooting and they ran."
The veterinarian who treated Sirus was amazed that he survived.
Michelle Pryor believes her dog took bullets that could have been fired at her family.
"I couldn't believe it, he saved our lives," said Pryor. "He's our guardian angel, he saved my baby."
As for a motive for shooting Sirus and breaking into the house, Pryor said she had just cashed a tax refund check and believes she was followed home.
"The economy is bad, people are getting desperate, they know that the sheriff's (deputies) are laid off," Pryor commented.
The intruder fled in a white four-door Buick. Anyone who can help identify the gunman is asked to call the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Department.
Sirus' owner said he always lets her know when someone shows up at her home outside Conneaut in Ashtabula County.
Michelle Pryor said early Monday morning Sirus began barking so she let him out and was stunned when she heard gunfire outside the home.
Sirus got shot in the chest and on the muzzle between his eyes.
As the dog lay wounded, Michelle hid her baby daughter in a laundry basket and alerted her fiance, who grabbed his gun.
The gunman kicked in the front door of the home and was confronted by Pryor's fiance.
She said, "He grabbed his gun and just started shooting and they ran."
The veterinarian who treated Sirus was amazed that he survived.
Michelle Pryor believes her dog took bullets that could have been fired at her family.
"I couldn't believe it, he saved our lives," said Pryor. "He's our guardian angel, he saved my baby."
As for a motive for shooting Sirus and breaking into the house, Pryor said she had just cashed a tax refund check and believes she was followed home.
"The economy is bad, people are getting desperate, they know that the sheriff's (deputies) are laid off," Pryor commented.
The intruder fled in a white four-door Buick. Anyone who can help identify the gunman is asked to call the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Department.
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