Mpumalanga Jack Russell saves owner from hijacker

A nine-year old Jack Russell called Ozzy has become a hero after saving his owner’s life when he bit a hijacker outside Hazyview, Mpumalanga.

Mansel Jackson (34) was on his way to the vet at about 6:30am after Ozzy had removed his own stitches from an operation he had had on his belly.

“We put a device around his head to prevent him from taking out the stitches but it clearly didn’t work. Ozzy was sleeping in the back of my Nissan X-Trail when I got to a stop street on the Hazyview-Sabie road, about 18km from Hazyview,” said Jackson.

The next minute, Jackson said, an armed man came out of nowhere and opened the car door.

“He held a gun to my head and wanted to pull me out of the car but I was wearing my safety belt. He shouted at me to unfasten my safety belt and in that time Ozzy woke up and literally climbed over my head and bit the man on his arm,” said Jackson.

He said the hijacker was caught off guard as he had not noticed the little dog in the back of the vehicle.

“He got a big fright and stumbled backwards. Right then I drove away as fast as I could,” said Jackson.

Despite his heroic act, Ozzy still had to go to the vet for new stitches but was rewarded for his bravery with an enormous steak from security company Hi-Tech Security.

“I am so grateful that Ozzy was with me in the car. I cannot imagine what the outcome would have been,” said Jackson.

- African Eye News Service