Hero German shepherd saves 6-year-old boy from attack by neighbor’s dog
Dramatic footage has emerged of a modern-day Lassie saving its owners’ 6-year-old son from being attacked by a neighbor’s dog charging straight toward him.
Videos viewed nearly 45 million times on TikTok show a German shepherd named Tank initially playing with his young pal in front of their Florida home.
Suddenly, a dark dog races toward them from the top right of the screen — with Tank instantly snapping into defense mode.
As the charging would-be attacker nears, Tank moves the boy out of the way and confronts the other dog.
Tank snaps at the aggressive animal, and follows him until he is at a safe distance — even turning back to make sure the young boy he saved is out of harm’s way.
He was not the only hero, with the family’s other dog, a pit bull, also tearing out to help chase away the threat. The boy’s mom runs out and picks up her son, with Tank joining them for ongoing protection as the attacker is controlled by its owner.
The boy’s dad shared surveillance footage of the incident to the soundtrack of DMX’s “Dogs Out,” getting viewed more than 20 million times by Tuesday morning.
A video shared by the mom also racked up nearly 24 million views. “Our neighbor’s dog randomly charged at my son last night & my Tanky saved him from getting mauled or worst,” the mom wrote, with the video going further and saying Tank saved the boy’s life.
She later shared footage of Tank in his usual environment — playfully rolling on his back as he enjoys a rubber toy.
“THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND,” she wrote, quipping that the playful footage showed a “highly skilled professional home security officer.”
“This is Tank & no, he is not professionally trained. He’s just a man with killer instincts, who loves a good chew toy,” she wrote.
She then shared footage of her other dog who also charged in to help, saying that “every superhero needs a sidekick.”