It was a typical Thursday morning for Alex Loredo, 18. He was hanging out at home doing a few chores when things suddenly took a turn for the worse.
“I was walking out of my door because I heard the dryer buzzer go off,” recalled Loredo. “The dryer is behind the house so I had to go out and walk around.”
As he was walking out he heard something.
“It was really loud,” he said.
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About a foot away, under a table, rattling and buzzing was a rattlesnake.
“Before I could even turn, Marley had run out the door, pushed me out of the way, and gotten in between the snake and me,” said Loredo.
Marley, Loredo's 7-year-old Labrador, was then attacked by the snake.
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“My heart just dropped,” said Loredo. “My first thought was, ‘Oh no, I’m going to lose my best friend.”
The snake slithered away, and Loredo and his mom rushed Marley to the vet.
“It was complete panic,” Loredo described. “My heart was racing and I didn't know what was going to happen next. To be completely honest, I thought he was just going to die in the car.”
At the vet, the lab was administered a few doses of antivenin and admitted into the pet hospital for two days.
“That's the longest I’ve ever been away from him, so it was a really sad experience for me,” Loredo said.
It's been two weeks since the bite and Marley has recovered. By now, Loredo says, even his playful spirit is back.
The young friendly pup can now add hero to the long list of qualities Loredo says make him his best friend.
