Dog fights off armed gang

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http://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/co...A14%3A27%3A353

Pet fights off armed gang
27 June 2007

A DARING dog fought off a gang of thugs carrying machetes and baseball bats to save its owner's life as he lay unconscious on the floor.

Australian Gerry Cunningham, 43, was playing with his Staffordshire bull terrier Gizzy in Gillespie Park nature reserve off Quill Street, Highbury, when he was attacked by four men.

He was knocked over by a blow to the head with a baseball bat blow - but awoke to find an injured Gizzy licking his face, having forced the men to flee.

Mr Cunningham said: "I was in the park throwing a stick around for Gizzy when four youths came in with machetes and bats. They had a Japanese Akita with them and a bull mastiff heaps bigger than my dog.

"One of them pushed me to the floor. I got up but he took a baseball bat and knocked me out.

"When I came to, my dog was sitting there licking my face trying to get me conscious. The dog had managed to fight them off and saved my life. I would have been chopped up for sure - these people are the riff-raff of society."

Two of Mr Cunningham's friends arrived and took him to The Whittington Hospital, in Magdala Avenue, Archway, where he was given the all-clear apart from a damaged shoulder.

Gizzy - an 18-month-old rescued dog with three previous owners - broke a fang in the fight while his owner was out cold. The plucky pet has since been given a full bill of health by a vet.

Mr Cunningham added: "Normally he's not an aggressive dog but I owe him my life. He got spaghetti bolognaise that night as a reward with potatoes and tomatoes and he finished the lot. I don't even see him as a pet now, he's much more than that. I will spend £50 on food for him - on heart, tongue, liver and everything.

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