A 60-year-old disabled grandmother in North Parramatta, Australia, might have been strangled to death by an intruder had it not been for the heroic intervention of her pit bull, Caesar.
On Aug. 23, Susan Bandera awoke at around 4 a.m. to find a man with his hands around her throat, violently assaulting her. Luckily, Caesar entered her bedroom in time and defended his owner, biting her assailant several times.
As Bandera is confined to a mobility scooter due to spinal cord injuries (resulting from a police shooting in 2009), she would have had no way of escaping the attacker had it not been for Caesar. “Just from what mom said, she didn’t know if she was going to make it,” the victim’s daughter, Natasha Bandera, told the news outlet, after the incident.
Police later arrested 32-year-old Peni Naiserelagi, and he is now facing charges for assault with intent to murder and breaking and entering.
Of Caesar’s courageous rescue, daughter Natasha Bandera said she’s “really proud of him” and added, “He’s such a good boy and I couldn’t be happier with how he reacted—and just being there for her.”
It was determined that Naiserelagi had previously rented a room in the home after he arrived in Australia from Fiji. Then, there was some sort of dispute having to do with Bandera evicting him and refusing to give him his important documents.
Naiserelagi is due to appear in court on Oct. 15, 2020.