Heroic Old Pit Bull Takes a Bullet for His Owner

"Hold him in your arms. Let him die in your arms," owner's girlfriend told him. But Justin Becker wasn't giving up on his dog.

Kilo, a 12-year-old pit bull, sports an orange head bandage with a red "S" on it. The "S" is for "Superhero," and was added by a veterinary office staffer who thinks the world of the old pitty, who nearly gave his life for his owner.

A man posing as a Federal Express deliverer came to the door of Justin Becker and tried to force his way into his Staten Island apartment. A scuffle ensued, and Becker pushed the home invader to the ground and jammed his body with the door.

Kilo, the brave old superhero pit bull (Photo by Steve White)

What would have happened next is anyone's guess, but Kilo left no room for guessing: He ran and stuck his head out the opening of the door, perhaps to see what he could do to help his distressed owner. Whether the intruder meant to shoot the owner and the dog got in the way, or meant to shoot the dog, we'll probably never know. But Kilo took a bullet in his head at point blank range. The intruder ran off. 

It didn't seem like there was any way the dog, shot so close, could survive. Becker’s girlfriend, Nicole Percoco, told him, "Hold him in your arms. Let him die in your arms." But Becker wasn't giving up on his dog. "I'm not going to let him die," he told her. He rushed him to a nearby veterinary hospital, where it was discovered that the bullet ricocheted off the dog's skull and exited through his neck. The bullet, by some miracle, did not penetrate Kilo's skull.

“This is like, one in a million,” said Dr. Greg Panarello, whose veterinary clinic did surgery on Kilo. “He’s very lucky.”

We sure hope Kilo recovers well. He's 12, with a bullet wound in his head and neck, so he needs a great deal of TLC. Let's send our wishes for a speedy recovery to this very good dog. As one commenter in the NY Post story about this said: I hope he's treated like a king for the rest of his days.

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