Days after a family adopted an abused rescue dog, the mom quickly noticed when the canine started acting “aggressively” around her 17-month-old toddler. Before she could react, the Doberman grabbed the little girl and tossed her like a ragdoll. The mother was instantly horrified but very quickly realized things were not as they initially appeared. She had a life-or-death emergency on her hands.
When Catherine Svillicic and her family decided to adopt a Doberman named Khan from an animal rescue shelter, the mother was aware that the canine had been abused growing up. Even so, Catherine wanted to give the dog a chance, so she brought him home to be part of her family. Four days later, she would know without a doubt whether or not that was a good decision after she noticed Khan acting “aggressively.”
With Khan’s history and Dobermans often carrying a bad reputation for being aggressive dogs, Catherine kept a close eye on their new pup when he was around her 17-month-old daughter, Charlotte. It only took four days for Catherine to catch Khan acting aggressively while the toddler played in the yard outside their home near the Australian city of Cairns.
Initially, it was just a nudge, but then Khan was tossing Charlotte around like a ragdoll. “Khan was really concentrating and was acting aggressively towards Charlotte — and kept trying to nudge her but it wasn’t working,” Catherine recalled. Then, as she watched in horror, things appeared to take a turn for the worst for the Australian family.
“So, he grabbed her by the back of the nappy and threw her over his shoulder more than a meter, like she was a ragdoll,” Catherine added. However, the terrified mother soon realized things were not as they appeared. Although Catherine was initially horrified by the act of aggression, her terror shifted when she saw what was slithering across the yard in front of Khan.
Sadly, that realization was followed by a loud yelp, and Catherine knew she had a different kind of emergency on her hands than she had initially feared. “Charlotte looked pretty shocked and Khan screamed like he’d been stabbed,” Catherine explained. “I realized he had been trying to get in between her and the snake before he threw her.”
It wasn’t just any snake either. Khan had spotted a king brown snake — the world’s third most venomous — and it was just inches away from the unaware toddler. But, Khan didn’t hesitate to put himself between the deadly reptile and little Charlotte. When the snake struck from its hiding place beneath the Svillicic’s house, it missed the toddler, thanks to the heroic dog, who took the bite instead. Sadly, Khan didn’t come out of the ordeal unscathed.
According to FaithIt, Khan was bitten by the poisonous snake, but thanks to an anti-venom shot from the vet, he was able to make a full recovery. His selfless sacrifice didn’t go unnoticed by his new family, who said they believe he acted deliberately and may have been repaying their kindness for rescuing him from an animal shelter, Daily Mail reported. “He saved her life by risking his own,” a thankful Catherine said after the harrowing ordeal. “From now on, he’s Khan the Wonder Dog.”
The remarkable story garnered so much attention that many people instantly thought it was too good to be true. In fact, it was even featured in a “Weird But True” article by the NY Post. Originally taking place in 2007, it’s gone viral time and again, even being featured in an article by Yahoo! News years after it took place. It just goes to show, good news never gets old nor do unlikely heroes, whose tails — pun intended — of bravery will live on long after they are gone.
