From time immemorial, dogs have been called man’s best friends and they continually prove this to be true every time. Not only are they brave loyal and obedient, but most dogs will also go to incredible extents just to protect their masters. One of such is Rex, a two-year-old German shepherd who lives with his family in Des Moines, Washington.

Rex was alone at home with his 16-year-old owner when burglars suddenly broke into their apartment. The frightened teen, Javier Mercado quickly ran into the closet to hide. Although he tried as much as possible to hold on to Rex and keep him quiet, the brave dog knew what had to be done and following the dog’s innate instinct to protect, raced down the stairs and attacked the buglers.

But unfortunately, the ruthless burglars were not scared away by the sight and snarling of the dog. Instead, they turned on Rex and attacked him.

“Both of the burglars struggled and beat him up with whatever they could,” Susy shared. “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.”

Beat up and bruised, Rex returned to his Javier and the two tried to stay hidden away from the robbers. But soon the men came upstairs into the room the pair were hiding and trashed it. Seeing the grave danger his master was in from the burglars, this dog decided to stand up to the intruders once again. he wasn’t just going to back down and let them harm his owner. He went into full attack mode and turned on the invaders again. in a panic the robbers shot Rex four times but were soon scared away by the sound of a siren. Their robbery attempt has been botched but not before they had done serious damage to the dog.

Rex needed urgent medical attention. He was rushed to BluePearl Veterinary Partners for emergency treatments. There he had to go through different scans, x-rays, and other treatments. But despite all that he still needed surgery to survive. The Mercado family had no choice than to reach out for help through a GoFoundMe page.

“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 help for this Hero dog. Everyone who heard Rex’s story was willing to donate something to help. Who wouldn’t? The family was able to raise more than $58,000 in just three days. The overwhelming donations were more than the initial goal of $10,000 needed for the treatment. This left the family so happy and grateful to everyone who helped. “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 assured their contributors. “Anything left will be donated to institutions and organizations whose mission is to protect our loved pets.”

Rex is just another proof of how deep a dog’s love can run, he really deserves a spot in the league of hero. We wish this brave canine a speedy recovery.