‘He saved my life’: Dog shot four times protecting owner during attempted armed robbery

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - A Wilmington man says his dog saved his life during an attempted armed robbery on the 800 block of S. 15 Street late Monday night.

Anthony Lane, 41, said he was at a convenience store across from his home, scratching lottery tickets before the incident happens.

Lane said he won $140 and believes someone watched him leave the store with the money and followed him home.

He said he was halfway up his walkway when another man came up from behind him and said ‘give me that,' then started firing.

His 12-year-old dog Skyler ran out of the house and into the yard, pursuing Lane’s attacker.

“He did what he was supposed to do... he ran towards it instead of running from it. He saved my life, I was dead. That bullet grazed me and I fell on the ground trying to get away. I was stuck on the ground. I would have been dead if he had another chance to shoot at me,” Lane said.

Despite being shot four times, Skyler is expected to survive, though may need to have his leg amputated.

Lane said the attacker also fired shots into his home. One bullet landed on a couch where two people were sitting. Another was launched inside the wall.

“When it was happening, it was to get away, to get in the house. Afterward, when I seen my dog was shot, it was to find him. Get him. It was no doubt that at that point the only thing I could think about was ‘you just basically shot my kid.’ He’s my only kid. You shot something that is very valuable to me,” he said.

Lane said when police arrived they spent around two hours taking reports while he worried about getting Skyler to a veterinarian.

He described his attacker as “young, dark-skinned, wearing a gray hoodie, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes.”

Skyler will undergo surgery Tuesday at the Animal Emergency and Trauma Hospital and Lane said he is thankful for his niece who started a crowdsourcing fund and for the Wilmington community for being so giving during a time like this.

“It’s probably going to be about three or four thousand dollars by the time it’s done with the surgery and everything else. She founded it, it’s already got $2,100 in it. That’s to give it a start on the surgery. I’m so happy Wilmington is being here and there are people out there who really care and it shows a lot for the community,” he said.