Gino Wensel was walking his dog Duke in Cape Town, South Africa, when a man approached armed with a knife. The four-year-old German shepherd reacted immediately and placed himself between his owner and the attacker.
The man ended up stabbing Duke in the head. The blade penetrated approximately 7,6 centimeters into his skull and became lodged near the eye area. Despite the severity of the injury, the dog managed to drive the attacker away before collapsing.
Wensel initially believed that Duke had died, but discovered that he was still breathing. He quickly took him to the Animal Welfare Society of South Africa, where veterinarians used an X-ray to determine the severity of the injury.
The blade had bent as it entered and passed just a few millimeters from the brain. “He was in critical condition and close to death“, explained Allan Perrins, a spokesperson for the organization.
The veterinarians had to sedate Duke in order to remove the knife and perform emergency surgery. The dog survived and began to recover overnight.
The next day, Wensel returned to pick him up, and the two were able to return home together. The attack occurred in 2019, and Duke’s story became known after the animal welfare organization shared details of his recovery.
After the operation, Duke remained under veterinary observation and managed to recover from the serious injury.
What initially appeared to be a fatal injury ultimately became a story of survival, thanks to the blade not reaching vital structures in the brain.
For Wensel, the episode also made it clear how far Duke was willing to go to protect him. The dog eventually returned home after surviving a stab wound that could have been fatal, having placed himself between his owner and an armed stranger.