Newly adopted rescue dog saves family’s daughter from a rattlesnake
Meet Haus, a rescue dog from Florida.
His new family was the DeLuca family, who found him at a shelter. The German Shepherd immediately loved his new family. He ended up repaying the adoption favor pretty quickly too.
One member of the DeLuca family is Molly, their seven-year-old daughter. We know German Shepherds and young kids make the best of friends, and this was certainly no exception. The two spent lots of time together – enough time for Haus to grow extra protective of his new sister.
When an unexpected guest appeared in their yard, Haus proved just how protective he was
Something inconspicuous and dangerous was in their backyard. The visitor was a diamondback rattlesnake, and it wasn’t too fond of the unfamiliar faces it saw.
Molly was in the snake’s path until Haus jumped between them. Their mother, Donya DeLuca, recounted how things looked from Molly’s point of view. She just saw Haus jump forward at the grass and bushes, then back, then forward again.
The German Shepherd succeeded in protecting Molly, but not without taking three strikes from the snake.
Diamondback rattlesnakes have pretty large venom glands, even though their venom isn’t as potent as some of their kin. To make up for the lack of potency, they turn up the dosage. Not good news for anything they bite.
And having taken three bites from this one, I think Haus received more than a worrying amount.
The bleeding from hemorrhagins in diamondback venom is usually what kills people.
The family rushed Haus to the vet, where he received a similarly large dosage of anti-venom. They gave him anti-venom four times a day, for four days. As far as snake bites are concerned, there’s no such thing as being too careful.
Molly was lucky to be safe, and she had Haus to thank for it.
Her new brother and best friend didn’t waste a second to save her.
Now, the DeLuca family requested help paying for the medical expenses. Medical bills are no joke, as most of us know. Donya thinks it’s well worth it for how selfless and caring Haus was. Speaking for ABC News’ coverage of the story, she said :
“I’m doing everything I can. I feel like I owe it to him to keep trying to save him.”
The GoFundMe page they set up for Haus was a success. It received about $50,000 in donations – more than enough to cover his medical bills.
Haus is going to be alright, and Molly couldn’t be happier about it.
As for the excess donations, the DeLucas asked people to stop donating. They had everything they needed and donated the remaining funds to a local animal shelter. It’s just a continuous circle of giving back, it seems!
Haus is one mighty dog, and the DeLuca family is lucky to have him. Few things will try and harm them as long as he’s around.
Watch the video below!
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