Every once in awhile, a would-be thief picks the wrong house to burglarize. That’s exactly what happened in Seattle, when a man attempted to break into the home of an 82nd Airborne veteran – for a second time.
Former paratrooper Andrew Myers explained that a burglar, whom he dubbed the “local creeper,” had already broken into his basement in the middle of the night – ironically, on Veterans Day – but only stole a shirt. Anticipating that the man would come back, Myers and his girlfriend set up a security camera – and they caught the creeper red-handed.
After attempting to break into Myers’ basement again, the man went around front and attempted to break into the front door. He was confronted and wrestled to the ground by Myers, who sat on top of the burglar in his front yard until police arrived. Afterward, Myers uploaded the footage of his apprehension to YouTube and it quickly went viral.
But Myers’s story doesn’t end there. He decided to use his scary experience to help other veterans by supporting Paws and Stripes, a nonprofit organization that helps place shelter dogs with veterans diagnosed with PTSD. Recently, Myers made a recap video of the burglary incident answering some of the most-asked questions about the video, including why in the world the thief kicked his shoes off as soon as the police arrived.
Myers himself suffers from PTSD and credits his service dog with potentially saving his life. “My service dog has helped me in ways I cannot explain with PTSD and I may not still be here without him,” he said. “Many veterans would still be alive to defend their homes if they would have had a dog like mine.”
“We should want to help as many veterans as possible fight their personal demons and keep that many more ‘wrong houses’ around for bad guys to walk into at night,” he added.
Do you support our veterans? Share this with your family and friends on Facebook to spread the word about Myers’s cause and Paws and Stripes!