Pitbulls can be extremely loyal and fiercely protective of their family, and Zeus here proved exactly that when he came to his family's rescue like a true hero.
To say a dog is a man's best friend is an understatement. Dogs have proved time and again that they have a large heart. A heart that doesn't just lead them to jump in excitement to greet you at the door, but also one that is so fiercely loyal that they wouldn't think twice to save their human family. Unlike us, their whole world is you and your home. However, there are stories of dogs and their pure love, which can lead to heartbreaks. Such as the one that led the Richardson family to spread the awareness of how incredibly loving pitbulls can be.
The Richardson adopted an adorable pitbull puppy less than a year ago. It was love at first sight; little Zeus won the heart of the kids and the whole family from the first moment of arriving home. They shared an incredible bond together as a family. The four kids especially were extremely close to him.
On a certain Monday, the two boys were cleaning Zeus' water dish outside the family’s home in Sumter County. They were completely unaware that there was a coral snake sneaking up on them from behind. Little Zeus who was all of eight months old, immediately sensed the danger and jumped to action. “All of a sudden, he started attacking the snake, which was close to my son and he was bitten four times,” Gary Richardson told Fox 5 News.
The loyal dog didn't think twice about his own life and took the bites in a way to keep the kids safe from the deadly reptile. “I knew when he first came in that something was wrong and (it) was very traumatic because I knew he was dying," Gary recollected emotionally.
They took him right away to a vet in Ocala hoping he would get better with immediate treatment.
The kids were distraught as they stood waiting for their beloved pet to get back up. Georgina Richardson shared the anxious moments the family had to go through on her social media.
However, Zeus succumbed to the poisonous bite and passed away the next day. The family, especially the kids were completely heartbroken as they knew he had given up his life fighting to protect theirs.
"He’s been a member of the family,” Gina Richardson said. “It just killed us. We just knew the antivenom was going to work.” The family brought in Zeus's mom, Sega, to say goodbye to her puppy. She lay quietly beside him mourning his loss.
The local news station covered the heartbreaking story, which Georgina believes will help people change how their perception about Pitbulls. She believes their loyal and incredibly kind dog will be an ambassador for this breed, which is often mistaken to be aggressive and insensitive.
“Pitbulls are the most loyal dog I know of, and I’ve had a lot of different animals in my life,” Gary Richardson said. As the family mourns the loss of their beloved pet, they are extremely thankful for his loyalty. He saved their kids' lives without thinking twice about endangering his own. “If you find (a pitbull) that’s aggressive, most likely, it’s because they weren’t treated right,” Gina Richardson said. “If you treat them right, they would give their life for you and I owe my son’s life to him.”
This isn't the only story where such incredible acts of courage and loyalty were displayed by canine family members. In 2009, a story was submitted to All Creatures wherein a pitbull saved two women from a deadly cobra by biting it. Sadly, he passed away and according to the witnesses, he died wagging his tail. In 2017, a post on Prayers For Pets outlined a dog named Slayer who protected the children he was playing with from a venomous snake. He fought the snake and killed it by biting it. Thankfully, he survived the attack despite the venom poisoning his system.
“How do you thank someone for saving your loved ones?” asked Melissa Butt, asked grandma of Slayer's family. We don't have an answer to this, but we do know that nothing is more precious and pure than a dog's love for his family. RIP Zeus. You are a hero.
References:
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/pit-bull-dies-after-protecting-young-children-from-snake-bite
https://www.all-creatures.org/stories/a-pitcobra.html
https://prayersforpets1.org/hero-pitbull-slayer-saved-babys-life-killed-copperhead-snake/
