Pinks Mag 003

Khan's story is one of a heroic dog
rescued from a shelter. Back in 2007, the
rescued Doberman Pinscher was at his
new home for just four days before he
repaid his owners' kindness by saving
their daughter from a deadly snake
attack.
Seventeen-month-old Charlotte Svillcic
was playing in the garden of her home in
Cairns, Australia when Khan began to
behave oddly. The dog had spotted a
king brown snake, the world's third most
venomous serpent, and the snake was
readying to strike the girl from its hiding
place beneath the family home.
What happened next was difficult for
Charlotte's mother, Catherine to believe.
"If I had not seen it with my own eyes I
would never have believed it," she said.
"Khan was really concentrating and was
acting aggressively towards Charlotte -
and kept trying to nudge her but it
wasn't working," Catherine said. So he
grabbed her by the back of the nappy
and threw her over his shoulder more
than a metre, like she was a rag doll."
Just as Khan had tossed Charlotte to
safety, the snake darted out and bit
Khan in the paw. "Charlotte looked
pretty shocked and Khan screamed, like
he'd been stabbed," said Catherine. It
wasn't until afterwards that Catherine
realized Khan had been attempting to
get between her daughter and the snake
before he threw her. Khan was rushed to
the emergency hospital and
administered anti-venom.
Thankfully, after one night of being very
sick, Khan made a full recovery. The dog
who had been unwanted just a week
before was now "Khan the Wonder Dog"
to his family. They knew for certain he
had saved Charlotte's life by risking his
own.