Leo
Poodle
Inducted February 1986
Owned by Lana Callahan
Nominated by Dr. William Hoegemeyer
Sean Callahan, 11, was playing in August 1984 when he came across a coiled rattlesnake. As the snake rose to strike the boy, Leo, a standard poodle, jumped between the boy and the snake.
The dog absorbed six bites around the head and left eyelid while Bud Callahan pulled his son away. “If Leo hadn’t jumped in the way, the snake would have struck my son at head or chest level and killed him,” he said.
The dog not only survived the attack, but eventually recovered the sight in his battered left eye. In addition to Texas Animal Hall of Fame honors, Leo received the Ken L. Ration Medal and appeared on “Good Morning America.”
