Web Exclusive: Dog saves boy from rattlesnake - KYTX CBS 19 Tyler Longview News Weather Sports

(CNN) - Talk about man's best friend. A dog is recovering from a rattlesnake bite he suffered after protecting a little boy.

Now, the dog is being called a hero for putting his life on the line to protect the boy from the rattlesnake.  The Whitman family rescued Boone, a 5-year-old Siberian Husky mix, from a shelter about five years ago.

Daniel Whitman, 14, said the damage done to Boone's snout is the result of the dog saving him from a rattlesnake bite.  "I was actually cleaning up after the dog and I heard him run to the corner of my eye," Daniel said. "I looked over and I saw the rattle of the rattlesnake start going off."

The rattler was coiled up in the corner of the backyard, ready to strike. Daniel and Boone ran back into the house.  Within a matter of minutes, it became clear that Boone got between the boy and the snake, and that in the process, the snake sunk its teeth into the dog, injecting him with venom.

"(Boone) just started looking up and dozing off," Daniel said.  Daniel's father, Dan Whitman, called police to come kill the snake before he rushed Boone to a nearby pet hospital.

Boone underwent two anti-venom treatments over two days because of the extreme swelling caused by the snake bite.  "The swelling was so bad that the fluid had nowhere else to go from his face so it went down into his neck and down into his front leg," Dan Whitman said.

The spot on Boone's snout where the snake bit him also began to peel.  "From what I understand is that the venom of a rattlesnake, it kills the skin and it will make it almost melt off the face," Dan Whitman said.

Boone has made a full recovery in the week since the bite.  And the Whitman family can't thank the dog enough for protecting Daniel.  "I can't say much more other than to thank him," Daniel Whitman said.

The Whitman family rescued Boone -- a 5-year-old Siberian Husky mix -- from a shelter about five years ago.