SEVIERVILLE (WATE) – A Sevier County toddler was saved from a venomous snake by a four-legged hero. The family dog, Shiloh, is now being credited for saving the day.
Shiloh and 18-month-old Bryson Holloway have been best friends from the start.
“They just do everything together,” said Bryson’s father Bryan Holloway. “As much as he loves everybody else, those two, the baby and that dog, have a bond.”
If the pair is outside together they are likely playing fetch, and it was in their yard where Shiloh became the family’s hero. The family was relaxing outside. Bryson made his way out, and as he started to step off the porch Shiloh saw something.
“Shiloh jumped up and took off after him,” Bryan Holloway said. “He lunged right towards the baby and at the baby’s feet, and when he did he kind of jerked back.”
Shiloh noticed it before anyone else.
“As soon as I saw it I did. I knew it was a copperhead,” Bryan Holloway said.
Bryson’s mother Alicia Holloway added, “He goes get the baby now and take him in the house, and it scared me.”
The copperhead was inches away from Bryson. Shiloh jumped between the two.
“Turning his head to the side and shaking his head and you could tell he’d been hurt, that the snake had gotten him,” Bryan Holloway said. “As furry as he is, and he has so much fur around his neck, you could visibly see the swelling.”
Shiloh recovered after a full round of antibiotics and pain medicine. The family is still amazed at what happened.
“He’s 24 pounds, and I believe that it would have killed him,” said Alicia Holloway.
The two best friends wasted no time getting back together again.
“We give God the glory in everything, and we know that he used that dog, that wonderful dog, to protect him, and we’re thankful every day for him now,” Alicia Holloway said.