Father Is Startled When Dog Lunges At His Daughter, Later Finds Out He Was Sacrificing Himself For Her
Oct 02, 2020 by apost team
The DeLuca family dog stood his ground between a deadly snake and two vulnerable family members. Were it not for his protective intervention, Molly, who was just seven-years-old, and her 75-year-old grandmother would have likely been the victims instead.
Be sure to reach the end of this article to see the full video.
As reported by ABC News, he's a two-year-old German shepherd who was adopted from a local animal shelter to fill the void left in their life when their previous dog passed on. They named him Haus. Initially, Donya DeLuca's husband was skeptical, but he was soon won over.
Haus was already adored by the family before he placed himself in harm's way between Molly and a snake. Initially, no one was sure what was going on. The child was startled to see the dog lunge in front of her.
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But it soon became apparent that some kind of battle had just occurred. The dog yelped and was clearly bleeding. The family then rushed their beloved dog to BluePearl Veterinary Partners.
Haus was found to have at least three snake bites. The best information on hand suggested the snake was a rattlesnake, possibly the very poisonous Eastern Diamondback, one of the most dangerous species in the US.
Anti-venom is quite expensive and usually used very sparingly. A normal dose is one or two vials. But Haus was put on a drip-feed and monitored around the clock because they had no idea how much venom he had in his system. Things were very touch-and-go at first.
Everyone was convinced that Haus had made the ultimate sacrifice, trading his life for the lives of Molly and her grandmother. They didn't think he would survive.
In an interview, little Molly told ABC, "I was really scared." But the treatment was ultimately successful. After a week, Haus got to go back home.
It's a good thing dad's skepticism didn't win the day. This entire incident could have gone down very differently for the family, and not in a good way. This is a good reminder to mow your lawn and try to limit hiding places in the backyard. In warm weather, even backyards aren't always safe, especially in certain parts of the US that are known to have snakes and other dangerous animals.
You can watch the whole story in the video below:
What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments section below. It's a feel-good story that also serves as an important safety reminder – be sure your friends get the memo today by passing this along to them!