Sandy Ruggerio was in the backyard of her Florida home with her pups when a terrifying sound stopped her dead in her tracks. It was the rattle of an extremely venomous snake. But just then, a hero named Beast came to her rescue. And the rattlesnake bit the brave dog in place of Sandy and her smaller pups! Credit: WFLA News Normally, the name Beast doesn't seem to fit this snuggly pit bull.
“He’s a big, loving bear," Sandy says of her hero. "He thinks he’s a little dog, a little lap dog. He wants to sit in your lap. He gives lots of kisses.”[rsnippet id="3"] Beast is beloved by all who know him. But Sandy is especially fond of her gentle giant.
"He's by my side 24/7," she says. "He doesn't leave me, you know. He's by my bed. He doesn't go anywhere with out me. He has to be there."Thankfully, Beast was by Sandy's side when a deadly visitor slithered into her backyard!
"He's my child, I don't have kids. We don't have children," she said.Thankfully, though, doctors gave Beast a good prognosis. And the hero should be back home by Sandy's side in no time.
“He loves people, but he has to protect his mommy and his daddy, anybody that he loves,” Sandy said.