The Martinez family of Española, New Mexico, adopted Poncho eight years ago and are now more thankful than ever that they did, because good-natured, tail-thumping Poncho might have saved their lives. In June, a man with a knife broke into the upstairs of their home, and Poncho defended his family.
Poncho is loving, but he was hardly tender on the night of the break-in when the family heard him barking at something upstairs in their home—something that clearly wasn’t supposed to be there. “They ran upstairs and found Poncho defending himself and the family against this intruder who had come into the house and had a knife,” Ms. Allen said.
Once the intruder had had enough, he fled the very instant Poncho’s owners called the dog off. Mr. Martinez chased the man down the street, and someone eventually tackled him to the ground, where he was held until Sherriff’s officers arrived. “He’s since been charged with criminal trespass and extreme animal cruelty,” Ms. Allen said.
The suspect wasn’t severely injured from Poncho’s latching onto his arm, though the pit bull’s laceration was the result of an alleged stab and slice action obviously intended to kill, Ms. Allen said. The kick also dislodged a disk in Poncho’s back, causing him to limp around for days after surgery. This was remedied not long afterward in therapy.
(Left) Mr. Martinez and Poncho; (Right) Ms. Allen and Poncho after surgery. Courtesy of Espanola Humane via Mattie Allen
Poncho is rewarded with a steak dinner. Courtesy of Espanola Humane via Mattie Allen
Poncho is an old dog. His age of 8 or 9, in doggy years, is getting up there, and he suffers thusly from arthritis and general deterioration. All things considered, Poncho has recovered fully.