By Sophia Chang
Anubis, a 5-year-old purebred Doberman Pinscher, was taking a post-birthday walk with owner Paul Caleca Dec. 8 near Caleca's home at 216th Street and 47th Avenue, when they encountered three muggers making their getaway after robbing two women a few blocks away.”Every year for his birthday Anubis gets Chinese food – chicken, broccoli and fried rice,” Caleca said. The deviation from Anubis's usual diet prompted Caleca to walk him twice that evening, which the Valley Stream educator said he rarely does.During the second walk around 8 p.m., the pair saw three young men hurrying east on 47th Avenue toward them in a distinctly suspicious manner, Caleca said. When the men saw the 80-pound Anubis, however, they halted in their tracks.”They looked at me and then at him, and they stopped,” Caleca said. He saw the men throw a bag over a garage fence on 216th Street before crossing the street and entering the backyard of a house.A young woman then ran up to Caleca, asking for his help, he said.”She came over and said, 'please help me, they mugged me.' Her hands were bleeding,” Caleca said. So he and Anubis stood in front of the house the muggers were hiding behind. Caleca called 911 while the dog remained on guard.”He was looking at them, with his chest out and his ears up. He was very alert and serious,” Caleca said. “Within seconds I heard sirens” as police responded to the emergency call.Police from the 111th Precinct said the woman and her friend had been mugged while walking to a bus stop near 46th Avenue and Bell Boulevard, with the three men punching and kicking them before taking their bags and a digital music player.While two of the three muggers ran away on 216th Street when police showed up, officers said they arrested one suspect, Isaiah Spencer, on charges of robbery. The women recovered their stolen property, as well.”The main thing he did was that the muggers would have continued down to Springfield Boulevard and disappeared,” Caleca said. “We managed to keep them at bay.”Though Anubis' admittedly intimidating appearance helped foil the muggers' escape, a recent visit with the dog revealed that he is extremely friendly and especially fond of snuggling with human females.”People tend to be afraid of Dobermans because of their bad-boy reputations,” Caleca said. “But the real aggressive nature has been bred out.”The dog's pedigree name is actually Kalora's Latin Hurricane, based on his award-winning parentage that includes a father that has won Best in Breed at the annual Westminster Dog Show. But Caleca nicknamed his pet after the Egyptian jackal-headed god Anubis, whose pointy ears are much like his namesake's.Ironically, Anubis' father was nicknamed Lex Luther, after Superman's legendary nemesis. Luckily, this Superdog works for good, not evil.”We just happened to be at the right place at the right time,” Caleca said, affectionately scratching Anubis' pointy ears.Reach reporter Sophia Chang by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
