DAILY EXAMINER (Northern Rivers, Australia) 28 September 09 Hero dog takes down snake

Six-year-old Staffordshire terrier George is the hero of the Doyle household at Pillar Valley.

George was outside with owner Barbara Doyle on the family's 1.8 hectare property on Friday afternoon when he took on and killed a 1.7-metre eastern brown snake.

The snake was only centimetres from Barbara when the fearless dog intervened.

Barbara said she was working in the yard about mid-afternoon, tying up a tree that had been blown down.

“George raced behind me and I heard him make a crazy noise,” she said.

“When I turned around he had grabbed the snake and whipped it into the air.

“When it landed he was onto it again and whipped it up again and didn't stop until the snake wasn't moving.”

While emphasising the family doesn't condone the killing of snakes and regularly re-homes snakes that make their way onto the property, Barbara said George received special treatment after protecting his owner.

Eastern browns are the second most venomous snake in the world and potentially highly aggressive.

“This is the first time we've seen a brown snake close to the house,” Barbara said.

“If I'd stepped back I probably would have trodden on it so I'm lucky George jumped in to help.”

As a reward for his efforts, George was treated to a few extra slices of salami on Friday night.
Hero dog takes down snake

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• AUS Press: Hero dog takes down snake - W von Papineäu, Sun Oct 11 11:06:27 2009