It seems like one family and their rescue dog were fated to be together. When the DeLucas adopted Haus, a German Shepherd, from a local shelter, they didn’t know that he would wind up being their hero.

When 7-year-old Molly was in the backyard with her grandmother, they both noticed that the 2-year-old pup was making odd movements. He was protecting them both from a snake! Standing in between Molly, her grandmother, and what was presumed to be an Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake, Haus was taking the brunt of the attack.

According to Molly’s mother, Donya, Haus was staring at something and then began jumping forward and backward. He held his ground as the snake made its strikes.

In the process, he received three bites to his right leg. Bleeding and in pain, Haus was rushed to the vet to receive treatment for the venomous bites. But the DeLuca family was astounded and thankful that he took such action.

Why? We know that dogs are loyal, loving, and good protectors, but Haus had joined their brood only two months earlier. He immediately bonded with the DeLucas children, Molly and Joey, as well as everyone else he met in the neighborhood.

The bites were serious enough for the hospital to place Haus under critical condition, and he received high doses of anti-venom and pain medication to combat the effects. Doctors had their hopes up that he would make a full recovery, but still were worried that the pooch would suffer long-term kidney damage.

Because of the high cost of medical bills for Haus’s treatment, the DeLucas set up a GoFundMe page to help. They nearly doubled their goal and were so overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers around the globe that they kindly asked people to stop giving to their fund.

They donated the excess money to local charities, including Heidi’s Legacy Shelter, the shelter where they found and adopted Haus.

About a week after he was bitten, Haus was allowed to go home with his family. Because of the severity of his case, he needed to have rehabilitation for his leg injury to help him walk and move around better.

All the attention earned the brave doggie a new nickname: Haus the Hero Dog. He has his own Facebook page where the family shares updates on his life and the other dogs in the family. Today, Haus is doing quite well and is back to playing and showing love to his crew.

Dog mama Donya shared that since the incident, they’ve had to snake-proof their yard to help lessen the chances of another snake encounter at their Florida home. It took a while for Haus to want to revisit the backyard area, but he slowly readjusted.

To hear more about his sweet hero dog and his family, click on the clip below. We should all be so lucky  to have a pet like Haus!

Did you hear about this courageous dog and follow his story? Is there a selfless and protective dog in your life like Haus? Do you have a similar story to share about your best fur friend protecting you?