This Brave Dog Risks His Own Life to Save a 7-Year-Old Girl

Dogs have a long-known history of loyalty, earning them the nickname “man’s best friend” due to their devotion. And Haus, a newly adopted German Shepherd, went beyond ordinary protection and exceeded expectations by saving his family’s 7-year-old daughter. 

Donya DeLuca from Tampa, Florida, adopted a 2-year-old German Shepherd, Haus, in 2016 from the local animal rescue Heidi’s Legacy Dog Rescue. However, upon bringing the young pup home, her husband, Adam, turned out to be quite skeptical.

Haus translates to “home” in German. And fittingly, Haus was welcomed wholeheartedly into the DeLuca home from the moment he entered their lives. He made an immediate impact and bonded with Donya and Adam, as well as their two children, seven-year-old Molly and four-year-old Joey. The family was taken aback by how quickly Haus became a fixture in their lives.

Haus became more to the family than just a pet. He also acted as a protector for the family due in large part to his inherent German Shepherd instincts. At night, he would watch over the kids and follow them around, making him a perfect playmate for the DeLuca children. 

One day, young Molly was playing outside with Haus by her side as usual as her grandmother observed them from inside the house through a screen door. However, Haus’ behavior suddenly caught the grandmother’s attention when he started to act strangely, repeatedly jumping back and then forward.

To Donya’s recollection, the initial moments of the incident that ensued were chaotic and confusing. Molly and her grandmother were unaware of what Haus was trying to alert them to when suddenly, blood appeared–a great deal of blood, in fact. 

As told by Donya, Molly encountered a snake while playing in the backyard. The snake was poised for attack and even attempted to strike at Molly, but Haus bravely jumped in to protect the young and helpless child. He placed himself between Molly and the snake. 

When Donya arrived home, she was shocked by Haus’ condition. He was struggling to walk, hardly able to limp, and his head hung as he drooled uncontrollably. The snake bites had nearly incapacitated the dog, even with his weight of 68 pounds. Donya couldn’t imagine the harm to seven-year-old Molly had Haus not intervened.

Haus had been inflicted with extremely severe snake bites, believed to be from an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, one of North America’s most venomous snakes. Bites from diamondbacks can be fatal to both humans and animals.

Haus’ condition had deteriorated significantly upon arriving at the veterinary clinic. The sheer amount of venom in his system was alarming. The vets immediately administered nine vials of antivenin, but this wasn’t enough to fully combat the effects of snake bites.

Even in his critical state, Haus showed remarkable resilience and managed to survive the ordeal. The vets were astounded by his progress and stability just days later. Donya was amazed by her dog, stating that “it’s semi-miraculous” and that Haus had a tremendous personality that drove him to keep going.

As loving dog owners, the DeLucas were, of course, determined to do everything they could to save Haus. However, as his treatment went on, the veterinary costs escalated, reaching a daunting amount of thousands of dollars. This was an expense that the family simply could not afford.

Cherissa Vandergriff, who has an unknown relationship with the DeLuca family, initiated a GoFundMe campaign on May 11th, 2016, to raise funds for Haus’ treatment. Titled “Help Save Haus (Rattlesnake Attack),” the fundraising goal was $28,000.

Cherissa shared Haus’s story on the GoFundMe page and wrote about how Haus bravely protected Molly from the snake. She also wrote that the DeLuca family would never ask for help but needed support in saving Haus. Her message struck a chord and began to spread online.

Haus’s GoFundMe page was an overwhelming success and attracted an outpouring of support from around the world. In a mere five days, the page received an incredible $51,329 in donations–far surpassing the original goal. The story of the heroic canine was shared widely on Facebook and covered by numerous news outlets.

Unsurprisingly, the DeLuca family was flooded with emotion, appreciation, and a general sense of overwhelmedness from the GoFundMe campaign. They were struck by the fact that strangers, even all the way in Sweden, donated to Haus.

​​On May 18th, just a week after the snake attack, Haus’s vet provided a positive update. Dr. Jennifer Holm said to Good Morning America, “We hope that Haus will get to go home today. We are doing a couple more checks on him early this afternoon, and, fingers crossed, we hope that he will get to go home either today or tomorrow.” 

The DeLuca family kept everyone who donated informed about Haus’ positive progress. They established the Facebook page “Haus the Hero Dog,” with a photo showing Haus wearing a cone full of signatures and looking content. To recover full use of his leg, Haus underwent physical therapy.

With Haus happily back home, the DeLuca family obviously no longer required the excess funds from online donations. So they chose to donate the remainder of the money raised to Heidi’s Legacy Rescue, the organization from which they adopted Haus, plus other animal shelters.

Donya admirably used the popularity of Haus’ story to promote adult dog adoption. She used their notoriety as a platform to express what she viewed to be important animal issues. She felt people tended to prioritize puppies, but adult dogs like Haus deserved homes too. 

The DeLuca family updated their followers on Haus’s life in May 2017 on their Facebook page. Haus was reported to be “happy and healthy” with little lasting impact and playing normally without his cone.