Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Heroic Dog Dies After Saving His Family's Lives During A Birthday Party Shooting

When a deranged gunman burst into a birthday party being held by the Martinez family in their home, things seemed very bad for all of them. Fortunately, they were saved by a hero: the family dog, who selflessly threw himself against the armed intruder and wrestled him to the ground even after sustaining several bullet injuries.


Laura Martinez wrote in her GoFundMe that she was throwing the party for her youngest daughter when the teenage shooter, who the family was acquainted with, arrived. He opened fire, "hitting Martinez in the leg, her son, Taylor Hollier, in the foot, and her stepdaughter, Valerie Pace, near her spine and in her thigh."



It may sound incredibly lucky that no one was killed after a gunman began shooting in such close quarters, but the Martinezes know luck had nothing to do with it. They credit their lives to Zero, the family's Great Pyrenees, who jumped up to bite the shooter on the arm and then knock him over.

Zero sustained three bullet wounds and would eventually die from the injuries.


Pace feels she owes her life to Zero:

"He jumped up to protect us and never showed any fear, even when he was struck."

Martinez is grateful to her pooch, but also heartbroken. You can never replace a true friend:

"I'm gonna miss him a lot."

Police have identified the shooter as Javian Castenada, who also allegedly snuck into the Martinez home the night before the party and stole several of their belongings. He is still on the run from Harris County authorities and wanted for "three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon."


In the wake of the attack, the family has started a GoFundMe to help support them through this difficult time. Laura wrote in the description:

"I am now on crutches and cannot work as I am a driver for Lyft and was shot in the right leg. I will have to see a vascular surgeon to prepare the damage. The police still have not caught him and my younger children are afraid, hell I'm afraid! We need help paying for surgeries, medicines, general bills as now two of us cannot work and the vet bill to have my Zero the Hero put down after the surgeon said he couldn't be saved. The emergency room bills are ridiculously high, I just don't know what to do but this. Any help is appreciated and if you can't help thank you for taking the time to read this and pray they find this dumb kid with a gun before he hurts anyone else."

Social media users were eager to chip in and help the Martinez family:


Laura Martinez/GoFundMe


Laura Martinez/GoFundMe


Laura Martinez/GoFundMe


Laura Martinez/GoFundMe


Laura Martinez/GoFundMe


Laura Martinez/GoFundMe


Hopefully the Martinezes are able to reach their goal so they can start rebuilding their life, but some things will never be the same. They will surely always miss their loyal pup who gave his all to protect his family.

More from News

Screenshots from @cassdamm's TikTok video
@cassdamm/TikTok

Woman Shares Why She Refuses To Tell Her Late Dad's Mistress Of 30 Years That He Died

While it doesn't always happen, sometimes we get to see karma at work—and sometimes, the revenge is sweet.

TikToker @cassdamm, who previously went viral for sharing the unhinged, five-page letter her 15-year-old son's principal sent, complaining about him "wandering the halls" and "being truant" for buying a drink on his way back to class, is openly celebrating the death of her father, but it's not for the reason you'd think.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from Kristin Hughes' TikTok video
@im.krispy/TikTok

Woman Sparks Debate About What Color Her Furniture Is—Only To Discover She's Colorblind

We've all heard the saying that there's no way of knowing everything that you don't know until you're faced with it directly. For some people, that could even be the color of the world around them.

Kristin Hughes, or @im.krispy on TikTok, reached out to the platform for a second opinion while she was trying to list a chair on Facebook Marketplace. Even though she wasn't charging anything for it, the woman who was interested in it continued to inquire for more photos and to know more about the color of the couch.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @budget.audit.save's TikTok video
@budget.audit.save/TikTok

Woman Shares Hack For Keeping Lettuce Fresh For Two Months—And TikTok's Minds Are Blown

It's no secret that groceries are expensive and that they're more expensive than they've ever been before.

Add to this the fact that many items, especially produce, tend to expire very quickly, so people often find themselves spending the money, only to figuratively throw that money into the trash a few days later when they didn't get around to using the produce fast enough.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @notjenneeree's TikTok video
@notjenneeree/TikTok

TikToker Goes Viral For Epically Laying Out Why Women Break Up With Men—And It's Spot On

Navigating the dating scene can be rough, and it can be really hard to understand why a relationship doesn't end up working out.

Men, for example, have posted infinitely on the internet about the "pointlessness" of dating because of women always breaking up with them, while women have admitted to seeing fewer and fewer reasons to even participate in the dating scene.

Keep ReadingShow less
Anne Burrell
Rick Kern/Getty Images

Food Network Stars Pay Tribute To Beloved Chef Anne Burrell After Her Sudden Death At 55

Food Network star and beloved chef Anne Burrell has died unexpectedly at the age of 55.

Burrell, who was most well-known for her 30 (thirty!) seasons as head of Worst Cooks in America, was found unresponsive the morning of June 17th in her Brooklyn, New York home, and was soon pronounced dead.

Keep ReadingShow less