Dogs have been called man’s best friends for millennia, and they continually prove this to be true. They are not only brave loyal and obedient, but many dogs will go to incredible lengths merely to defend their owners. Rex is a two-year-old German shepherd from Des Moines, Washington, who lives with his family.
When Javier Mercado’s house was broken into, he and his 16-year-old owner were alone together. The alarmed teen, Javier Mercado fled to the closet as soon as possible. Despite his best efforts to keep hold of Rex and keep him quiet, the brave dog knew what had to be done and leaped down the stairs to attack the robbers, in accordance with his natural inclination to defend.
The dog’s snarling and ferocious appearance did not deter the thuggish burglars, however. They turned on Rex instead and began to attack him.
“Both of the burglars struggled and beat him up with whatever they could,” Susy said. “Rex stormed back to the upstairs floor all beat up and bloody from the beating to check on his master who was still hiding in the closet.”
Rex returned to Javier, and the two attempted to stay out of sight of the robbers while they were beaten up and bruised. However, the men soon arrived on the floor above and destroyed everything. This dog realized that his master was in extreme danger from the burglars, so he decided to fight them once again. He wasn’t going to let them hurt his owner without a fight.
The robbers began to retreat when a police car arrived. in a rush, the robbers shot Rex four times, but they were soon scared away by the sound of a siren. Their bank robbery has gone horribly wrong, but not before they had caused significant harm to the dog.
Rex required immediate medical care. He was rushed to BluePearl Veterinary Partners for emergency treatments, where he had to undergo numerous scans, x-rays, and other procedures. But despite all of that, he still needed surgery to survive. Because the Mercado family had no other option, they created a GoFoundMe page seeking assistance.
“Rex’s life depends on a surgery he will need to survive … [Our] family cannot let Rex the hero dog go without us fighting as hard as he did, to his very last bit of a strength while protecting my nephew.”
That was all they needed to raise money for this Hero dog. Everyone who heard Rex’s tale was willing to give something. Who wouldn’t? The family was able to raise more than $58,000 in three days after people heard about his story. More than the required $10,000 for the treatment came from overwhelming gifts.
After the surgery, they were ecstatic and grateful to everyone who assisted. “We have exceeded the goal and we just wanted to assure you that all the money will go toward Rex’s medical expenses and his recovery,” Susy told to the donors. “Anything left will be donated to institutions and organizations whose mission is to protect our loved pets. ”
Rex is yet another example of how deep a dog’s devotion can be, and he truly deserves to be in the company of heroes. We hope that Rex may make a full recovery as soon as possible.