A ruff start to the New Year.
A nurse in the US state of Wisconsin woke up on New Year's Day to find a man asleep on her dog's bed.
Even stranger, he was snuggled up with Benton, her South African mastiff, who she had bought as a guard dog.
Benton in his bed Image Credit: Milwaukee Journal SentinelLynn Sarver told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that she woke at around 5am and saw him lying beside her 68kg pooch in the living room.
She asked her house guest if she knew the stranger but she didn't.
Lynn said the man seemed the worse for wear and they weren't able to rouse him:
"He was out. Even when I went to pull off Benton, the guy didn't move."
The women took a knife from the kitchen and rang the police.
When officers arrived they woke the man and asked him if he knew where he was. He responded that he needed his glasses.
"Once he put them on and looked around, he said, 'Oh yeah, this is not my house,'" Lynn said.
The stranger turned out to be her 21 year old neighbour who had confused Lynn's house for his own. He had gotten in through an unlocked patio door.
Police said he was "heavily intoxicated" and they asked the nurse if she wanted to press charges.
However, she didn't see any need as her neighbour was extremely embarrassed and apologetic:
"I learned a big lesson and I'm sure he did too."
Following the incident, Lynn has had to defend Benton's ability as a guard dog:
"My dog is pretty smart. He could probably tell this kid wasn’t a threat."
