Hero golden retriever protects owner from rattlesnake

Paula Godwin was walking with Todd, her six-month-old golden retriever along a route they have gone on nearly every day, when the puppy shielded her from the venomous snake.

"It was a beautiful morning, but as we were walking down the hill, I literally almost stepped on a rattlesnake," she wrote on Facebook. "But my hero of a puppy Todd saved me. He jumped right in front of my leg were (sic) I surely would have got bit."

Godwin rushed Todd to a veterinarian who gave the puppy an anti-venom within about 10 minutes, she said.

Godwin shared the story and images of Todd’s swollen muzzle as he recovers.

“This is what a hero looks like,” she wrote.