A couple have their dog to thank for alerting them before robbers could enter their Manor Gardens home.
|||Durban - A couple have their dog to thank for alerting them before robbers could enter their Manor Gardens home.
The couple were watching television in their lounge on Sunday afternoon when three men unhinged their driveway sliding gate and walked into their yard.
Tony van der Merwe, 67, said his dog, Cammy, a cross Maltese, gave a strange bark in the house.
His wife, Elizabeth, 62, peered through the lounge door and saw a man walking towards her carrying a gun.
Van der Merwe said his wife screamed to alert him.
“She screamed to press the panic button while the men were trying to break down the kitchen door. I was in shock.
“She realised this and screamed louder this time, telling me the button was in the kitchen. As I pressed it, the door flung open. Three men rushed in, pushed me on the floor and placed a gun to my back,” he said.
Elizabeth ran into the passage and locked an interior gate behind her.
The security company called her and she alerted them to the robbery in progress.
Van der Merwe said one of the men grabbed him off the floor and pulled him towards the gate. The man held a gun to his head. The man told his wife that he would shoot Van der Merwe if she did not unlock the gate.
“I told her to unlock the gate because they will shoot me and eventually get to her. She complied. I took them to my safe which they emptied. They were conscious of the fact that the security company was on its way.
“They seemed to know the layout of the house. They knew where the CCTV recorder was. They took the recorder with them,” Van der Merwe said.
The robbers made off with cellphones, cash, and Van der Merwe’s wallet with credit cards and documents.
“Normally the dog will bark at the monkeys, but this bark was different. Had Cammy not alerted us, we would not have been able to press the button,” Van der Merwe said.
Mayville SAPS are investigating a case of house robbery. No arrests have been made.
Daily News
