Dog survives knife stuck five inches into head by burglars

A well-known South African artist and musician has told how he thought his neighbour was joking when he received a call on Saturday morning to say he should come quickly as his dog was "running about in the street with a knife in her head". Vernon Swart of Stellenbosch said it transpired that his 6-year-old German Shepherd and terrier cross, Bella, had foiled a robbery during which she was stabbed in the head.



Swart, known for his nude studies and landscapes as well as being the drummer for Valiant Swart, said he thought it was "absurd". He then went outside, to see the police "come charging, guns drawn". "Bella then attacked them," he recounted on Sunday, while she lay quietly in front of the fireplace in their house in Dennesig Street, Stellenbosch.

The neighbours had called the police as they had trespassers on their property. The suspected robbers never got into Swart's home, but must have been in the yard. Swart and his wife, Ingrid, who was at work at the time of the incident, then took Bella to a vet. She was put under anaesthetic and the vet “literally had to push his knee against her head” to pull out the knife, said Swart.



To their surprise, Bella was fine, despite the stitches to the wound. The knife penetrated about 12cm between her eyes, and appeared to have missed her brain. To reward Bella for her bravery, Ingrid cooked her a piece of fillet steak.