A brave and intelligent pet dog in South Africa saved its owner from a dangerous mamba snake that was hiding under the couch in his house. The man living in Escombe, Queensburgh, thought it was weird that his Rottweiler was pushing him away from his couch, one he sits on every afternoon. As the dog started barking at the back of the couch, the owner eventually realised something might be wrong.

South African snake catcher Nick Evans who was called for help has details of the interesting incident on his Facebook page with some good advice on how to tackle such situations.

He said after the pet dog had exposed the snake, he grabbed his dog and ran from there. He further added, “I cannot tell you how many calls I get where people phone me while their dog is attacking the snake, resulting in a dead snake and at least one dead dog. I suppose panic takes over. The way this gentleman in Escombe reacted was exactly how one should react if a snake is encountered, and if you have dogs. 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.”