When Chicago police said a group of armed carjackers who tried to hijack an Old Town man on Monday evening was scared away by the victim’s dog, we assumed it must have been a formidable canine. German Shepherd? Pitbull maybe?
Nope. It was an 11-pound Miniature Schnauzer named Rudy.
Rudy’s 41-year-old human told his carjacking story today on a Notre Dame athletics message board.
“If it were not for Rudy,” the man wrote, “they would have been successful.”
The post on NDNation includes several details that CWBChicago confirmed align with the carjacking attempt that unfolded after the man pulled into his garage on the 1400 block of North Cleveland around 8:50 p.m.
“In retrospect, there are a few things I would have done differently. I’m fine, but I am distressed out about what could have happened if I let one of my kids join me or if my wife instead had run the errand,” the man wrote before giving a detailed account of what happened.
“When the lead guy came around the corner with a pistol and pointed it and a flashlight at my head, I executed plan A,” the man said. “He yelled at me to ‘give me your car and all your s**t.’”
“As I tossed the bag to the attacker, Rudy came flying from my side and jumped at the guy who promptly uttered ‘oh s**t a dog!’ and looked down at Rudy while backing up … Rudy chased the guy into the alley.”
“Confident the attackers were gone, I backed up and called out to Rudy, who leapt into the truck. We then met CPD at a nearby intersection and tried to track the guys down. While we were meeting, they assaulted their next victim near Twin Anchors, where they pistol whipped the guy and stole his wallet and phone.”
You can read the man’s complete account here.
Police believe the crew committed two street robberies in Lincoln Park and Old Town around the time of the carjacking attempt — including the one Rudy’s owner mentioned. Tuesday morning, Area Three detectives issued a community alert that linked Monday’s robberies to similar crimes reported in Andersonville and Lincoln Square last week.
By the way, the man said the carjackers’ getaway vehicle appeared to have Fraternal Order of Police vanity plates. According to a CPD report reviewed by CWBChicago, the plate was an “FP” plate, which is issued to fleet vehicles such as rental cars.
Anyone with information about the crimes can contact Area Three detectives at 312-744-8263 about robbery pattern #P21-3-108.
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