Marine Veteran, His German Shepherd Hailed For Helping Police Stop Intruder
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
SCOTTDALE (KDKA) -- A Marine Corps veteran and his German Shepherd helped police capture an intruder in Westmoreland County.
Police say it all started when Corey Pandullo broke into a garage in Scottdale on Wednesday.
They say Pandullo fought with the police officer who responded, before stealing an SUV and backing it over a wall.
That's where Pandullo ran into Edward Swingle and his four-month-old puppy named Keeper.
"My neighbor started yelling there's a guy in my bushes," Swingle said.
Swingle says he saw the guy trying to steal his motorcycle off of his back porch and then ran around to the front of his house.
"I get right here and I see a guy running into my door full force. So I yell for my dog, I said "Keeper, go get him" and he went through those bushes, messed up the flowers, and grabbed him by his pant legs and drug him off he porch" Swingle said.
At this point, Swingle, a combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient, pulled his dog off of Pandullo and demanded to know why he was trying to break in.
Pandullo went right back to trying to get into the house, so Keeper went after him again.
"So I let my dog have him again and they both went over across the street. He took off running and my dog was on his legs the whole way and they went back between the houses," Swingle said.
Swingle followed and this time held Pandullo at gunpoint on his neighbor's porch until police arrived.
While it was a team effort to capture the suspect, Swingle said there was only one hero," Swingle said.
"The dog, the dog is absolutely," Swingle added.
Swingle says he's proud of how Keeper reacted and says the dog has never been trained to protect him.
