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Despite only weighing ten pounds and having just three teeth left in his mouth, 11-year-old Vinny the Maltese mix recently came to the rescue of his adopted brother, Harley, when the pup was attacked by a pair of coyotes. The showdown happened in the backyard of David and Erin Macaluso’s Mission Viejo home after the couple and their two dogs had returned from an evening walk.
Surveillance video of the harrowing encounter shows Harley being chased and attacked by a pair of coyotes. Then a flash of white darts through the yard and the coyotes take off running away from Vinny as he rushes to his brother’s aid.
The Maculusos knew that Vinny was fearless, but they heaped praise on the aging hero. "He's always been a scrapper,” David says, “He's just not afraid of anything." Harley suffered several bites requiring 20 stitches, but his courageous brother spared him for a worse fate. And now the Macalusos are on the lookout for a tiny doggie cape for Vinny and say they’ll “never underestimate the power and spirit of their aging rescue."