A dog defended his master against two crooks in Meixian county, Shaanxi Province, who tried to rob the elderly man on a dark street.

The man, surnamed Zhang, was carrying about 8,000 yuan (US$1,170) to his friend's home at about 11 pm on Thursday when he was stopped by the two men. His dog, which was following him, suddenly charged at the robbers and fought with them. The men became scared and ran away.

"The dog, which I bought 5 years ago, follows me wherever I go," Zhang said.

(China Daily March 10, 2009)