May 13, 2016

This dog is a hero, but he's hanging on for dear life after intervening between a rattlesnake and his 7-year old family member, Molly DeLuca.

Rescued as a 2-year old, Haus bonded with Molly right away and serves as her playmate, and now, protector.

According to Fox13News in Tampa, Haus and Molly were playing in the backyard when he saw the snake.

"She saw him jump back, and go forward, and jump back and go forward," described DeLuca. "He was just, kind of, holding his ground."

DeLuca said they quickly realized Haus was staring down a rattlesnake.

"Next thing we know is, there's blood and he was limping and crying," she said.

Vets identified three snakebites. On Thursday night, Haus' health was still touch-and-go.

"Just based on temperament, he was standing up for my daughter, he was standing between, he didn't budge," said DeLuca. "He kept taking hits, she was on the other side of him, and so was my mom."

The snake managed to inject Haus with so much venom, vets were giving him a steady drip of antivenin, instead of the more typical one or two doses.

And this is where the Internet stepped in and helped. A GoFundMe was established to save Haus, and people have responded in a wave. A GoFundMe campaign for good! Imagine that.

From the last update:

We just can't yet quantify what Haus will need. To estimate - it's between $1000 to $1500 per day in ICU which it's looking like at least a week. The vials of the low-protein anti-venom are $618 a vial and he's averaging 4-5 per day. He may need surgery to clean the wound and a skin graft, he may not. We just can't say at this time. What we know is all things considered he is doing great. Any funds that exceed the needs of Haus will be donated to local German Shepherd rescues.

They do think Haus will survive, but it's still dicey.

I know this is not our usual post fare, but I have a soft heart for dogs and rescues. This is our 15-month old rescue, and we love her.

violet

I'm sending good thoughts to Haus. Hopefully he'll be up and running again before too long.

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