iStockphoto / reptiles4all
Dogs have been protecting humans from harm since we first domesticated them from wolves 23,000+ years ago in Siberia.
Case in point, a dog in South Africa potentially saved its owner’s life when it alerted the owner to the presence of a Black Mamba snake underneath the couch.
According to South African snake wrangler/rescuer Nick Evans, the dog spent two days trying to get the owner’s attention.
The owner would typically relax on the couch but the dog kept trying to nudge the owner off of the couch. After two days, the dog’s owner realized how atypical the behavior was and thought to move the couch to investigate.
That’s when he spotted a Black Mamba snake underneath the couch. The dog tried to attack the snake but the owner was able to grab ahold of it before the dog attacked and the snake bit back, according to a Facebook post from the snake wrangler:
The Black Mamba is considered to be the second-longest venomous snake on planet earth behind the King Cobra. They can grow up to 15 feet long and regularly grow to lengths of 10 feet.
Black Mambas are also remarkably fast and can move around at speeds of 10 MPH. They also have virtually no natural predators in sub-Saharan Africa, where they are native. The New York Post writes that Black Mamba bites can be fatal in under 20 minutes.
Nick Evans the Snake Rescuer wrote that this was a perfect example of how a pet owner should react if a venomous snake is found in the house.
He wrote “NEVER let your dog out to kill a snake for you, it often ends badly for the dog too. Unfortunately, dogs do usually find the snake before their owners, and many of the times it’s too late to do anything.”
This was a great dog. He spotted the threat and alerted his owner.
All dogs are good dogs, there are only bad owners. And everyone’s pet dog is the best dog (to them). These are maxims I’ll argue all day against cat people/dog haters. Because at the end of the day, the best compliment you can give a cat is ‘my cat is just like a dog.’
Majestic as they may seem, sometimes Black Mambas look like doofuses. This video from 7+ years ago shows one trying to cross the road but the hot pavement made it ‘forget how to slither.’