Heroic Pit Bull Fights Off Armed Home Intruders, Suffers Gunshot Wound

Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, Benji, and now a Pennsylvania Pit-Bull named Blue joins the ranks of World-Class Hero Dogs.

Blue, who is from West Philadelphia (born and raised), jumped into action when his home was invaded by armed robbers and literally took one for the team.

Nina Teller and Leroy Buchanan are Blue's parents, and one night while they were casually sitting in their home, two men violently barged in with nefarious intentions.

Recalling the incident, Buchanan said, "I told Blue to get after the guy. He locked onto the guy's leg and that's when he fired his gun." The bullet pierced Blue and his parents became extremely worried. Teller stated, "It was pretty scary and I was shaken up. But I was worried about Blue. He was bleeding a lot. We were scared for him."

The couple took Blue to Penn Vet, who quickly jumped into action.

Erica Reineke, the associate professor of emergency and critical care at Penn Vet said, "My first instinct was that the shoulder wound was an entry and the sternum was the exit wound. We knew the wounds were close to his thorax or in his thorax, and he had some air under his skin. So the first thing I was concerned about was thoracic trauma and bleeding from the bullet."

At one point Blue's breathing worsened, so they had to perform a procedure known as "tapping," which means that they "inserted a needle into his chest to remove air."

Professor Reineke continued, "At that point, Blue initially stabilized. But his condition rapidly declined, so we started tapping his right side. Suddenly he decompensated from a respiratory standpoint and turned very gray. We weren't getting negative pressure, and the air just kept coming through his chest."

With Blue's condition stabilized, it was time for him to get into surgery so the bullet could be removed.

Dr. Brian Brophy, the lead surgeon, stated, "This was a relatively manageable issue to deal with. Removing that portion of the lung will not compromise Blue's long-term function. And the damage was in line with the trajectory of the wounds."

Blue is reported to have made a quick recovery and is said to be doing really great. Teller told reporters, "We're incredibly thankful."

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[H/T: People Pets]