Woman Credits Dog With Helping Save Her From Fort Collins Assault

A Colorado transient is behind bars after allegedly trying to sexually assault and strangle a woman in a Fort Collins park on Sunday night.

That's according to a post on the Fort Collins Police Services Facebook page.

Dispatch got a call via 911 on Sunday with a woman crying and telling a man to get off her. The Dispatch Emergency Call Center was able to trace the call to near the center of Lee Martinez Park. Officers arriving at the park located the woman, who pointed out a male walking behind her. She said he had attacked her, but she was able to fight him off for 20 minutes, helped by her dog, who bit the man in the face.

Police arrested 39-year-old Seth Estabrooks without incident. Estabrooks, a transient from Boulder, did not know the woman.

Estabrook was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital and treated for dog bites before being arrested.

He was arrested on the following charges:

• 2nd Degree Assault Strangulation - Class 4 Felony

• Unlawful Sexual Contact with Force or Threat - Class 4 Felony

• False imprisonment by Force - Class 5 Felony

Meet the Four-Legged Heroes of the Cheyenne Police Department

They may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but make no bones about it, police dogs play a vital role in the fight against crime.

In many situations, they're the first ones to put their lives on the line to protect their human partners, proving that not all heroes wear capes, some wear fur coats.

Gallery Credit: Joy Greenwald