ANTHEM, AZ - An Arizona woman is thanking her dog after the pup protected her from a snake bite while they were hiking.

On June 29, Paula Godwin wrote on Facebook that she was out with her dogs Todd and Cooper. 

As Godwin nearly stepped on a rattlesnake, Todd jumped in front of her in a valiant act of bravery.

"My hero of a puppy Todd saved me," she wrote. "He jumped right in front of my leg where I surely would have got bit."

Instead, the snake bit Todd in the face, and Godwin was uninjured. She later shared photos showing the golden retriever with a facial wound.

Godwin sought medical treatment for Todd immediately, and she said the brave pup is expected to fully recover.