A Staten Island Pit Bull Terrier became a real life Superdog last Saturday when he took a bullet meant for his owner.
Around 5 p.m. Saturday evening, an armed burglar posing as a FedEx delivery worker pushed his way into the Graniteville apartment of Justin Becker.
A dangerous struggle ensued; Becker wrestled the criminal to the ground in the doorway to his apartment, but the burglar continued in his pursuit. When the fake deliveryman pulled out his gun, Becker’s best friend Kilo sprang into action, jumping at the assailant.
But then the gun went off. Kilo, a 12-year-old Pit Bull, took a gunshot to the head, saving Becker’s life.
Becker’s girlfriend, Nicole Percoco, said that there was no way that Kilo would survive such a serious wound. “Hold him in your arms,” Percoco told Becker, “let him die in your arms.”
But Becker couldn’t let his best friend and hero go. “I’m not going to let him die,” Becker said of Kilo.
Becker and Percoco rushed Kilo to South Shore Animal Hospital for emergency treatment. The situation seemed grave.
In a lucky turn of events, an x-ray revealed that the bullet miraculously never penetrated Kilo’s skull. Kilo, the lifesaving Pit Bull, would be okay.
“This is like, one in a million,” said Dr. Greg Panarello, the veterinarian who treated Kilo after the incident. “He’s very lucky.”
After undergoing surgery to remove the bullet, the South Shore veterinary staff decorated Kilo’s bandages, drawing a big letter “S” for “Superdog.”
Today, Kilo is back at home with Justin Becker, where the pair is recovering from the traumatic events of last weekend.
The burglar who attacked them has yet to be caught.
