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Rescue dog chases burglar out of Seattle home

When a Seattle family adopted a puppy from Mexico 6 years ago, they had no idea what a guardian she would become.

Lara Sukol went to Mexico six years ago on vacation with her family and ended up coming back to Seattle with a new puppy. 

"When we went in (to the animal shelter) a woman just handed us her and asked if we would take a little, black dog," said owner Lara Sukol.

Fast-forward to today, and as it turns out, that little black dog is a very good guardian.

"She told me she's no hero, she was just doing her job!" 

Early Thursday morning, Lara heard some noise outside her house followed by the sound of a broken window in her home in Seattle's Phinney Ridge neighborhood.

She said that's when Bella, her dog, sprung out of her bed, ran downstairs and began barking. 

A burglar had entered Sukol's home through the basement, but Bella's bark was enough to scare him away. 

"She simply just heard a noise and she was protecting her territory and chased the guy away," said Lara. 

While Bella took care of the burglar downstairs, Lara was able to get a good description of the getaway car and driver who was parked in her driveway. 

In the Seattle Police blotter, officers say they were able to track down the two suspects three miles away on NE Northgate Way. In the release, Sgt. Sean Whitcomb even gave Bella a shout out, saying the burglar was "foiled by the homeowner's heroic dog."

Police believe the suspects are connected to additional burglaries that happened during the holidays and that the case remains under investigation. 

Meanwhile, Lara is happy that her little rescue pup can add "stop crime" to the list of tricks she can do. She says when it comes to protecting her house, Bella is all the defense she needs. 

 "I think having a dog for protection is the answer," she said, "they're great, they're scary and robbers do not want to deal with a dog, they just don't."

Lara's family adopted Bella from the Cozumel Humane Society in Mexico and hopes other families will consider adoption as well when thinking about getting a pet. 

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