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Family's rescue dog dies protecting home during break-in after being hit in head with brick

The homeowner told officials the basement door was open and her dog was laying on the basement floor not moving much.
Photo courtesy of Carolina Bock-Martinez

NEWNAN, Ga. – A family is mourning the loss of their dog after their home was broken into earlier this month.

On Aug. 8, Coweta County sheriff’s deputies were called to a home on Crawford Circle for a burglary where a family’s dog passed away due to trauma. Police said the would-be thief bashed Toby in the head with a brick, but the dog still managed to scare off the thief.

Carolina Bock-Martinez told deputies she left her home around 10 a.m. and left their dog, Toby, outside by the basement door. When the Brocks came back, that door was open and Toby was on the ground.

Sheridan Brock, 14, said Toby was family.

"I broke into tears, my mom broke into tears," she said.

They adopted him from the Coweta County Shelter 10 months ago. Bock-Martinez told officials there was a small spot on the center of Toby’s head and a bruise on his left side.

Evenly gravely injured, she sid Toby laid by the back door, guarding their home until they got back.

"I'm at a loss for words because he's just so special, "Sheridan said. "It was hard, the dog was suffering so much."

When they rushed him to the hospital and the vet found broken ribs, blood in his eye, and a clear mark from a brick on his head. The vet told them Toby had to be put down.

A brick was found near the basement door and Bock-Martinez’s daughter told deputies the bricks are normally stacked beside the home. Bock-Martinez said nothing was taken from inside the home.

"We believe that Toby, he protected our home. but we would rather have the house empty than my dog's life taken away and that's hard," Sheridan said.

They buried Toby in the backyard and say they'll always be thankful for what he did for their family.

"When my brothers are playing in the backyard, they usually play, before they go to my dog's grave and they just look down, and they wait there until they go play," she said.

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