A heroic dog named Lady risked her life to save an 8-year-old girl who had accidentally riled up a nest of four deadly rattlesnakes.
"Lady was bitten three times on the face as she fought the snakes until my daughter, Teresa, could get safely out of the way," said thankful mom Laura Martinez. "She saved my daughter's life."
Teresa was one of six children enjoying a family outing with Laura and her husband, Bob, west of Loveland, Colo.
"My daughter went into the bushes with her grandmother and a couple of the other kids," Mrs. Martinez said. "
They accidentally got too close to the snakes, who began to shake their rattles."
Teresa was only a few feet from the snakes when her grandma, Irene Thomson, told her to "freeze, don't move."
That's when the overweight, mild-mannered 9-year-old pooch swung into action.
"She risked life and limb for my daughter," Mrs. Martinez said.
The venom from the angry snakes caused Lady's face to "swell up like a football." She lapsed in and out of consciousness during the 45-minute drive to the vet.
Lady looked like she'd been run over by an 18-wheeler when she returned home from the vet three days and $300 later. Her face and one leg had been shaved and she was sore all over.
"She's fully recovered now and is spoiled worse than ever," Mrs. Martinez said. "It was totally out of character for her to attack those snakes, except the kids were in danger — and Lady knew that."
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