‘Hero’ dog takes 2 rattlesnake bites to save beloved owner

HARBISON CANYON, Calif. (KGTV) - A young man from California credits his dog with saving his life after the dog took two rattlesnake bites for his owner, nearly dying in the process.

Marley, a 7-year-old Labrador retriever, is at home recovering after saving his owner, 18-year-old Alex Loredo, from a snake bite. On a late May morning, Loredo headed out to the dryer on the side of his Harbison Canyon, California, home. It was then he heard a noise.

“As I’m walking out the door, to my left side, I hear a big rattle,” Loredo said.

About a foot away, under a table, was a more than foot-long rattlesnake. Loredo’s dog, Marley, rushed to his owner’s rescue.

“Before I could even turn, Marley had already run between us, basically pushed me out of the way and barked a few times at the snake,” Loredo said. “The snake lunges at him and bites him right on his tongue. It lunged again and bit him on his lip.”

After the snake attacked Marley, it slithered away.

Loredo got Marley back into the house, and soon after, he and his mom rushed the dog to the veterinarian. Marley needed four doses of antivenin, and for a time, his condition was dire. But two days later, the dog turned a corner and was able to return home.

“Thought he wasn’t going to make it, extremely grateful that he did,” Laredo said. “If it wasn’t for Marley, I would have been bitten, and it probably would have been really bad.”

Marley is in for plenty of love, and once his tongue heals, Loredo promises to get him a bunch of burgers, his favorite food.

“Marley is a hero. He’s my best friend. I don’t know what I would do without him,” the 18-year-old said.

A GoFundMe campaign set up to help with Marley’s veterinary expenses has raised more than $8,000.

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