Tennessee Dog Saves 18-Month-Old Boy from Venomous Snake

Bryson Holloway's family is "thankful every day" for their "wonderful dog" who came to the rescue

Shiloh the dog is a hero to one Tennessee family.

The pup was bitten by a copperhead in Sevierville as he protected his 18-month-old family member from the venomous snake, WATE reports.

The Holloway family was relaxing outside their home when their little boy, Bryson, started to step off the porch — but before he could, Shiloh spotted something.

“Shiloh jumped up and took off after him,” Bryan Holloway said. “He lunged right towards the baby and at the baby’s feet, and when he did he kind of jerked back.”

The dog stood between snake and baby, and Alicia Holloway added: “[Bryan] goes, ‘Get the baby now and take him in the house,’ and it scared me.”

At some point during the incident, the snake bit Shiloh and a wound was quickly swelling.

“Turning his head to the side and shaking his head and you could tell he’d been hurt, that the snake had gotten him,” Bryan told WATE. “As furry as he is, and he has so much fur around his neck, you could visibly see the swelling.”

Shiloh recovered after a full round of antibiotics and pain medicine, the report said, and the Holloways believe the dog saved their son’s life.

“He’s 24 pounds, and I believe that it would have killed him,” Alicia said. “We give God the glory in everything, and we know that he used that dog, that wonderful dog, to protect him, and we’re thankful every day for him now.”