Golden retriever recognized as Kibbles ‘N Bits 49th Dog Hero of the Year

Courageous Canine Rescues Young Girl from Escaped Python

Sundance’s Story
It was a warm, sunny August afternoon and Michelle Passalacqua of
Farmingville, NY, ran inside her kitchen to pour her two daughters, Kaila
(7) and Sara (3), a drink for their backyard picnic. Kaila followed her
mother inside to help, leaving Sara to play in their new toy ball pit.
Seconds later, Passalacqua heard a scream and then crying. She ran outside
and found their pet Golden Retriever, Sundance, barking at a large,
strange-looking snake dead on the ground and Sara crying on top of the
picnic table.

Passalacqua quickly checked her daughter for bites, but found nothing.
Sundance had saved the day. The large, eight-foot snake - a ball python -
had made the Passalcqua’s ball pit its home and when Sara jumped in, it
became agitated and started to slither toward her. Sundance, recognizing the
danger, began to bark loudly at the reptile and eventually killed it to
protect his young owner.

When I heard that Sunny had won the Dog Hero of the Year Award, I almost
broke into tears,” said Passalacqua. “Sundance needs an operation to remove
a few tumors from the back of his shoulders and we didn’t have enough money
to schedule the surgery. Now, we are going to use the prize money for his
operation. He has done so much for us, now it’s our turn to help him.

http://www.kibblesnbitsdoghero.com/