This story is, in a broad sense, a complete hoax and it’s been floating around the internet for nearly 5 years.
It was reported to us by a Hollywood writer and zoologist who later clarified our error in reporting. More pics —> Depictions
If you read the story that was “shared” to you by one of your stupid Facebook friends– the one where the pit bull gave up his own life to save an old lady and her grandchild from a vicious cobra — you will see that not only does it make no sense, you will read where a Filipino police Captain tells how the story is a lie and how it all got started.
“There was a pit bull problem in a local town,” said Lt. Meracedo Consalves of the Quezon City police.” Pit bulls were being targeted by animal control and owners were being forced to license them. In order to paint a happy face picture of the pit bull and to make policemen look evil, this photo was taken by a local pit bull fancier and then he added a crazy story that is not true. It never happened but today’s internet is making people believe it to be true.”
This is a brief bio of the Hollywood zoologist who investigated the story for TheDamienZone.com –> Dave Mattia
EDITORS NOTE: The photo does indeed depict a dead dog and a cobra but the story is fake. It is a staged photo. Dead dogs who look like this are very easy to find in Manila and people photograph them in all kinds of ways. One way is to put a cobra or mongoose next to the dog and lay claim to a heroic story where the dog saved their life. It is simply not true but it is done to make money or get fame.
“We were not looking to kill or punish people who own pit bulls,” continued Consalves, “But after some serious attacks on pedestrians, we demanded that all pit bulls and mixed breed pit bulls had to be registered with the local animal control as being that breed.
“This picture going around the internet is one of a local dead dog who was posed with a snake so as to invent a super-dog story. We believe they are mostly good dogs, but we simply want them to be licensed with a special tag that designates the exact location of their owners and not just a phone contact. We also want people to stop putting dead dogs in gruesome photos. I would not be surprised if some dogs were killed by human hands just because somebody wanted to take a photo like this. “
If you were one of the stupid people who shared this or thought it was such a sad story, you’re an idiot for not investigating the truth. If you read the story that comes along with this photo on Facebook, and the sad story about how the dog, dying from his snake bite, wagged his tail one last time, you should also have read the equally stupid and untrue story about how the dog was sickened about an hour AFTER the alleged cobra bite — so why then is the dog shown dead on a mat with the snake still there?
What kind of idiot would kneel before a dead dog to snap a photo of a cobra? An idiot who wanted to spread a hoax and get hits on his website — that’s what we’re talking about here.
Also, this story has so many incarnations — if you Google this story it comes out as happening in 2004 and 2005 or 2006 or 2007 and upwards until the most recent Facebook incarnation of the selfless pit bull which occurred only a few days ago. It’s all a staged hoax. The pit bull in this picture never saved any family from a cobra attack and this photo simply depicts a dead dog and a snake.
Editors note: Again, this picture does indeed depict a deceased dog, but the story is fake and the photo is staged.
Stop being a stupid Facebook sucker and falling for this dumb crap. You accomplish nothing when you share grotesque photos on social media. Even if this were true, the story alone is sufficient.
OFFICIAL UPDATE: TheDamienZone.com got an email from an animal control officer in Manila who further told us something that adds irony to this hoax. The reason this story started was because a woman in Manila (April, 2004) found her small dog dead in the garden of her home. It had been killed by a snake which was still skulking around in the weeds.
As she was carrying her dog into the house, a wandering pit bull attacked her and tried to take the dead dog from her arms. The woman’s daughter seriously injured the pit bull by hitting it on the head with an iron pot.
The dog survived but was later put down by its owner. The old woman required over 100 stitches to close her wounds and she nearly died from infection. So….this is what led to the new rules about pit bull licenses and the distribution of this fake story. See what I mean, folks? All it takes is a little research into the facts.
An even more gruesome story is happening on the eastern shores of the United States with dead dolphins all over the beaches. https://thedamienzone.com/2013/08/19/dead-dolphins-washing-up-on-new-jersey-beaches-heres-why/
NOTE: This is a story about pit bulls in a poor community who are probably pretty hungry and it does not imply that pit bulls are especially mean or dangerous — although some animal control statistics throughout the world seem to suggest otherwise.
This is how animal rights people screw themselves over. They tell a lie and then the lie becomes a legendary truth known by millions — and then the lie is revealed — to millions. It’s better to say nothing than to lie and invent silly stories that get spread around on the net like a cancer.
Before you go on a rant that insults people and calls them stupid, perhaps you should do a little bit more research? You say the dog is asleep, and that it was first used on a TV show about funny animals. The pictures at the end of this page beg to differ…..(edited for graphic content).
You’re right about one thing, that is a dead dog, but the story is still fake. The photo is staged. You are indeed correct that the link you sent ( which I had to delete for graphic content) shows a dead dog and a snake, but the entire story is fabricated around a staged photograph. TheDamienZone’s error was publishing a staged photo of a staged photo of a staged photo — if you follow what I mean. Further still, getting the opinion of a really shitty veterinarian who will never again get any press on this page doesn’t help. Our apologies — but actually this further proves how FAKE even REAL things can be. No pitbull was killed by a snake and no family was saved. There are a lot of dead pitbulls and a lot of people putting snakes next to them and snappping pictures. This, according to Reuters, is the one that got the most attention because of the high quality. Read the various incarnations of the story. You will see that it is a fake ( but real) photo.
I wanted to tell you weeks ago that I have seen about 3 pictures of dead pitbulls with snakes on or near them. There was a real picture of a pitbull with a snake where the dog is indeed not dead but simply sleeping, but you put up the wrong picture. This dog is DEAD! Like you said, it is a fake story that has wings because the actors who portray the parts are easy to come by in certain sick areas of the world. Dead pitbulls are a dime a dozen. As a matter of fact, in American veterinary schools, Pit bulls acoount for 88% of all dissection and anatomy dogs. In 1989 the percentage was zero. To take it one step more, 2006 saw the first time a “breed” of dog was named in anatomical photos and artist’s renderings of canine anatomy. Prior to that, it was all just, “domestic dog.” I agree that people who spread these stories are stupid and simple because of how a lie leads to more lies. How many pitbulls will die so someone can snap a photo of a dead one with another vicious animal standing over it for the sake of a crazy story? What’s next – “Pitbull gives live to save family from rampaging gorilla?” I agree with you 100% and it’s too bad you were hoodwinked into believeing the dog was not dead when he was – but you are totally right that the photo was staged and the story is fake. The police in Manila know about the hoax and it’s one big hoax after another.
Two words Pit Bull!!!
this post only proves that a few clicks won’t hurt only to prove if a viral photo is true or not
thanks for posting this!
Successful troll is not successful 🙂
Its viral!!!!!!!!! Get outta here!
I don’t care if it is a fake story. I applaud the person who did this to make pit bulls get an even chance. You people do nothing but complain about pit bulls but have any of you ever met one? I don’t own one but I have come across a lot of them and I think they are the best dogs around.
Any dog will bite or attack if it is trained to do so. So please go on to something else. Go complain about something else. Like why do small dogs constantly bark when there is nothing to bark at. And by the way they bite many more people.
Linda — LEARN TO READ! It will make your whole life more enjoyable. You only saw “your” word — PIT BULL and you did not read the story because you’re not inclined to look for truth or to investigate truth. You need to work on that.
your the idiot DDM, your opinion is your opinion.. don’t force it on others. Linda did read, she read that your a bigot and an asshole. I own a pit and he is just like any other dog just stronger, faster and smarter. Don’t kid yourself either, you got an audience of 5.. tops…
358,000 who have viewed this story, Trracer — but maybe I ought to write a piece about people with poor reading comprehension — so far there are waaaaaaay more of those.
Damien
Its funny how people are so quick to say pitbulls are a danger and that in some parts they are meaner than others, but if you put a dog, of any breed in a place with out food or shelter, they will do what ever it takes to survive! Even taking a dead animal out of someones arms. Dont get me wrong I feel for the lady that was attacked, but I can almost guarantee that the woman holding the dog put up a fight to keep the dead dog because it was her pet and didnt want any further harm caused to the dog.
Its not just pitbulls that are mean and not to mention its the owners of the dog, any breed that make them mean. Even tho you say you are not saying pitbulls are dangerous dogs but yet all you mention are the bad things heard. So you should really think about what you say about dogs of that breed! I have owned pitbulls and they are amazing dogs, but Im guessing you have never owned one. Try it before you make your comments!
You started out your comments like a nice little lady and then you somehow morphed into the crazy psycho from hell. How did you do that so seamlessly? My comment people never cease to amaze me … in one way or another.
how can i say it pitbulls they are very dangerous …..from the look of the picter is is like the pitbull save the women and gave his life to save her 🙁
poor pitbull it will really hurt :'(
how can i say it pitbulls are so dangerous ….from the look of the picter its like the dog gave his life to save the women 🙁
Wow you’re angry
When people serve notice that they are ignorant and easily fooled — and they try to pass their stupidity and ignorance on to others — they deserve every ounce of anger I can lash out at them. So yes, I am angry — wow!
i have a pit bull and he is my service dog and the best dog i have had and i have had him for 3 and a half years never bit anyone and wont
my bull just killed a snake today, saved a 2.5 year old child, was bitten by the snake and almost passed on. She i still fighting tho and hopefully will make it through the day. She is my favorite of the three i have 🙂 Best dogs in the world – Big ol’ Teddy Bears.
By the way it wasnt a Cobra she killed but Australia’s Eastern Brown :. We were very lucky today, Both my wife and child could hae been killed by this snake they have a load of venom and bite quickly a number of times.
Sounds to me like this report of a hoax is a HOAX…..suggest the hoaxer go to the net and see just how many lives pitbulls have saved before reporting negatively about a breed of dog that will give his life to save and protect its master and family…American bulldogs rule…the most loyal dog there is !!
This story seems BOGUS to me…
The report as told by TheDamienZone is not a hoax. This website revealed that there was indeed a hoax within a hoax. A dead pitbull was photographed with a snake put atop its corpse to further pass along the hoax.
OP, I apologise. these people read and instantly all they think is that you’re insulting the breed by pointing out that the story is fake. People are such intelligent creatures.. Then the other half post the same stupid thing ” my pit bull was awesome! ” nobody cares. We know they can be nice. so read, use your brain, and don’t post anything without thinking people. please. You kill my brain cells with your posts faster than sticking my head in a microwave.
You report a story about a dog and a snake being passed around is a hoax = You hate pitbulls you Nazi Hitler.
… Makes sense to me!
I love how Linda is trying to sound conservationist and stuff, protecting dogs and stuff is good and she does in fact have a good point. However, as a freaking 14 year old boy all i see is people loving the cute and adorable. Honestly, if pitbulls were really ugly and weren’t kept as pets, i doubt it would get much sympathy. Why not protect mosquitoes, the only thing they can do to live is bite other people, but the only solution is to kill them by the thousands.
looking back at this, i see it as naive, annoying, and immature, but i took all this time to write this and maybe it will actually make sense to someone.
also, danny, your fucking awesome
I don’t hate pitbulls at all. I even make a point of that in the story. The purpose of this website is to exposes hoaxes. Some people would go so far as to kill an innocent pitbull just to get a photo like the one in the article. I love pitbulls and all animals…except spiders. I hate ignorance but some people simply do not understand that.
man watch your language, how can anyone beleives you when you call them ignorants, stupid… i dont give a damn about your stoty, nor the presumed fake one. I just like to read diffrent stories from time to time. some ppl might be stupid but i rather deal with them than someone arogant and uneducated like yourself.
Hey, Zaki. I am VERY educated. You can learn a lot from reading my stuff. If you like to read “different stuff” you will find that I cover some very interesting topics. I have to call people “stupid” and “dumb” because my purpose is to educate by revealing stupidity and dumbness when and wherever it may occur.
Actually, this pitbull story is real. A network had a special feature on hero animals here in the Philippines, and the owner of this pitbull named Chief was interviewed. This happened in Cagayan de Oro.
The pics are staged and the story is an overly dramatized (fake) version of something that could have happened but probably did not — and whomever it was you saw on TV was full of shit.
One thing I can tell you is that whether or not this story is fake, the succeeding story you posted about that old lady and the commentary about stray pit bulls is ALSO NOT TRUE!!! While there are countless stray dogs going around Manila, THEY ARE ALL LOCAL DOGS, none of them are dogs who have foreign breed like pitties. So if you believe people should get their facts straight and legit, then I suggest you do the same thing…
Sunaco — Take it up with the police chief who we interviewed at length to get that story. I should think he would know better than you about the underground dog-fighting industry which was left out of the article entirely so as to not offend the entire country. I think you might not get out very much —-?
pitbull are very gud at doing thier job but when u dont feed it,it will come 4 ur life 2 feet it’s self
This particular story may be fake, but the fact is, dogs (including pits) have been doing exactly this kind of thing for thousands of years–why else did people keep them? Animal Rights activists spreading internet hoaxes in the stone age? I kind of doubt it.
Pit Bulls are whatever we make of them–if we breed and train them to be aggressive, they’ll be aggressive–however, there are hundreds of them living in my NYC nabe, and only a few have been aggressive–mainly to other dogs. The woman was attacked because of the small dog she was holding. It’s a predatory impulse that gets encouraged by irresponsible (and sometimes damned near sociopathic) breeders, who use small dogs as ‘bait’.
Guy who ran a local shoe store told me a story about his Rottweiler (another dog that gets a lot of bad press) saving his grandchildren from a copperhead. Got between them and the snake, and got bitten. Went upstairs and got under the bed, and refused to come out–thankfully the dog survived–much less dangerous venom than a cobra, and of course a bigger dog than a pit.
I’ve never owned a pit bull in my life, btw. I’ve had many as friends. They are challenging, and people should think twice about getting one–they need a lot of love and exercise, and they need to be properly socialized. But the hysteria that surrounds them is getting a bit hard to take. Most of them are, if anything, excessively friendly to people. They are brimming over with love for just about everything around them. And yes, they do protect their people. That’s no hoax.
The story as it was spread on the internet is a HOAX — it does not matter if a pit bull stood between David and Goliath and thereby gave David the time to load his slingshot — the story about the cobra and the pit bull and all the names included therein were untrue. The other aspect to this story is the fact that the fad now in southeast Asia – where everybody lives on 10 cents per month — people are finding and/or killing pit bulls and then posing them with venomous snakes.
Try debunking this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoQKIoTXQOs&feature=kp
Smaller quicker dog, and clearly experienced with snakes. But pit bulls are terriers, just like Jack Russells, and they are just as fearless and protective in this type of situation. No question, if a pit bull saw a cobra in his house, he’d run at it, and kill it, and probably die in the process, not being as quick as the dog in this video.
I don’t really care if one particular story of a dog defending his family was a hoax–the fact is, dogs protect their people from dangerous animals (including other people) all the time, and it’s one of the reasons the dog/human relationship has lasted so long. Because they see us as pack, and all these misguided animal rights activists were doing was pointing out that if they’re willing to defend us and we’re not willing to defend them, we are the inferior species. If they made it up, I’m not defending that. Because there are so many real stories they could have used.
But can I ask–do you have any proof anybody has killed a pit bull just to pose him with a dead snake, in response to an internet hoax that came out years and years ago? Dead dogs are never hard to come by in a place like the Philippines (or anywhere, really). Could we see some proof? Or were you just saying it because you read about it on the internet somewhere? 🙂
You know, I started to write this blog to expose human stupidity and dumbness — and I state that fact in the title of the blog. After 3 years, however, I am starting to see that all the real dumbness comes from the comments and not from the actual stories.
Listen —– only an idiot would not already know that dogs protect their owners from attacks by animals or other humans.
So, what is your point? I wrote about a specific event. If you read the story you will note that I spoke to the Lieutenant-in-Chief of the police department. Lieutenant Meracedo Consalves provided me with the information — and he was emphatic about the fact that dead dogs are indeed very easy to find in all parts of Southeast Asia. Take it up with Consalves –
I too could not believe that anyone conjured up that scheme — but they did — and so I wrote the article.
If buying dead pit bulls were legal in the USA, there are shelters and vets all over who will sell you hundreds and hundreds per day. Pretty sad, but it’s true. In poorer countries there is a lot of corruption on the local level and the selling of dead animals from vets is not unusual — for anatomy classes and sometimes even for food. Shelters as we know them in the USA and Europe are essentially nonexistent.
Just figure this: The dog — according to the fake Facebook Share story — supposedly suffered from its bite and struggled for its life for over an hour despite over an hour of trying to save it. (more hours depending on which faker version you read) Okay — then why is the dead dog posed with the snake? Can you figure that one out? Can you please find me a cute YouTUbe video where a Jack Russell stages a crime scene for fun and profit?
Damien LeGallienne
Antibes, France.
You didn’t make that clear in your original story–and honestly, what idiot doesn’t know that the internet contains lots of inaccurate information? You’ve just made your entire post irrelevant. 🙂
I tend to believe the police officer–but at the same time, I note that there is politics involved in this, and we can’t be 100% sure he’s telling the whole truth either–he wasn’t a witness to the event, and this involves a law being passed that he obviously supports. Cops have been known to lie, everywhere in the world–the Philippines is a hotbed of corruption–as you just said (not that the U.S. is so perfect). So there’s no reason to assume a local policeman is 100% honest, no matter how much time he took to talk with you.
But for the record, I can easily believe this was a hoax. If you thought otherwise, you’re not reading what I write very carefully. However, if you feel moved to attack the intelligence of anyone who doesn’t automatically agree with everything you write here (without any proof whatsoever, other than second hand testimony from a non-witness), that says something about you. 🙂
It’s hardly unusual for online accounts of actual events to differ. That happens in real news stories as well. Very often, that just means people are embellishing a real event, or are misremembering the original account. I don’t really understand your point there at all–it’s easy to see why you’d believe a police officer from that area who told you it was a hoax. It’s hard to see why you think the picture of the dog with the snake could only have been taken while the dog was still alive. Let’s say it actually happened. This is a poor area. Not everybody has a camera. They would have been pretty traumatized, by nearly being killed by a cobra, then watching their dog die. Somebody finally shows up and takes a picture of the dog lying by the snake. Clearly posed, but so what? The dog is supposed to just sit there by the snake, waiting to die, until somebody can snap a photo? Typically, when they know death is coming, dogs tend to go somewhere private, and wait it out.
But again, I find it perfectly believable that this is a hoax. The policeman’s testimony, while not unimpeachable, is certain credible. It’s just that the way you report this has this hysterical ring to it, as if you can’t believe anyone believed this–even though you admit there’s nothing terribly hard to believe about it, and it happens all the time.
You came out and said “They are killing pit bulls to do these hoaxes”. Again. Do you have any evidence of that?
Read the story again — take a deep breath and try to absorb what I wrote — then read what I wrote in subsequent comments. Why would people — no matter how poor — wait around for one hour with a snake laying on the body of the dead dog when it was stated in the actual report that the dog had been taken away from the house and treated but died? THE PHOTO IS STAGED! This is the year 2014 — every 3rd world scrounge has a frigging cell phone camera. Stop arguing for the sake of arguing — you’re full of shit and a pain in the ass — If you poke me enough times I will not publish any subsequent comments from you. You’re a pest. There is an old French expression that translates perfectly into English: “Tell your story while you are walking away.” You know what — fuck that — you are banned from posting — end of story.
Au revoir
Damien LeGallienne
I read every word you wrote. Including “third world scrounge”, which really indicates something about your attitude It’s your blog, but I would think you’d aspire to a higher level of discourse than this–and to a higher level of objectivity. The story could easily be a complete hoax, or a partial hoax, or (as yo acknowledge) it could have happened. You are not carefully and dispassionately weighing the evidence here, the way they would at Snopes.com–you’re just ranting, and in the process, showing a distinct lack of concern for accuracy yourself. You refuse to defend your statement that people are going around murdering dogs to perpetrate “dog kills dangerous snake” hoaxes, so I assume you realize now that was an unsupportable statement.
Nobody was filming the alleged event as it occurred, nor would anyone reasonably expect that. But to say that the photo is staged is pointless–it would be staged, whether this happened or not. They would get the body of the dog, and place it next to the body of the snake–outside, where the light was better. Whether they had a camera or not, somebody with half an ounce of empathy would realize that having been in fear of their lives, and then horrified by the impending death of the dog that defended them, they wouldn’t necessarily be thinking “Oh, we have to take a picture for the internet!” right that very moment in time.
It doesn’t prove that the event really happened–but neither is it proof that it’s a hoax. You’d see exactly the same kind of photo if the dog really had charged a cobra inside its house, and killed it, and then died over the course of an hour.
Your interview with the local officer was useful–see, I can be complimentary–but it isn’t absolute proof, because he’s got an axe to grind. The story isn’t 100% debunked–it’s certainly questionable, and people shouldn’t be treating it as an established fact. However, as you acknowledge, this kind of story has happened many many times in reality, so how important is it to say this particular story was a hoax? It’s not Bigfoot, or UFO’s or Nessie. It’s a dog protecting his people.
Your threat to never publish any of my comments again is a bit funny. Only reason I came across your blog at all is because I was looking up this story, which I read years ago. I doubt there will ever be any other article here I want to comment on. I appreciate you publishing my earlier remarks, but you’re a blogger, and a fairly obscure one at that–you should be grateful anybody cares about what you write. 🙂
I previously stated that I would not publish comments from PHISHER — the mental case who invents a convoluted story so as to compliment his previous convoluted story.
Because I am a thoughtful person. I am publishing this latest comment more as a public service announcement than anything else because I would like for my readers to recognize the patterns of behavior indigenous to the proverbial crazy internet person.
According to psychiatrists and other folks who study the mind, the functional mental case (I am over-simplifying the psychological terminology here) is almost always inclined to write long letters and those letters will grow increasingly longer in length.
It’s widely known that long letters are the hallmark of mentally sick people but this guy pushes the envelope. In this case we’re dealing with comments and not letters per se — but still, they get longer and longer. The writer reinforces my story yet disagrees with it at the same time.
My stats dashboard tells me that 607 people are following this discourse, so if I can help a few people by showing them how and when to recognize a mentally sick person, I will have done some good. Watch for the next comment to be even longer.
Have a nice day in the USA
Damien LeGallienne
Damien, nice attempt to disparage and minimize someone with whom you disagree.
You definition of mental illness and “long letters” is what is the hoax here.
Seems to me that the lonely mentally ill person here is you, seeing as you assume that since 607 people are following your “discourse” makes you some type of expert.
Unfortunately for you, some of us ARE experts in mental illness, and you most certainly haven’t a clue what you are talking about.
Ichabod is probably a social worker.
You are the dumbest person, ofcourse the story is reall. You wanna know why? Cos that dog is our pitbull. Shut your fxckin mouth and just appreciate the dog. Stop seeking attention by making up stories asshole!!! Sorry for my language i just got triggered, cos its fucking sad to lose a dog by sacrificing itself and people are just dumb for not appreciating Chief(it is the name of the dog)
LIAR
I’m struggling with this hoax call, as likely as it is to be a hoax, as not, The editor urges the reader to fact check, without actually providing any undeniable facts or references to prove the story fake.
If anything, Editor pretty much spins their own perspective, whilst berating anyone willing to believe the story to begin with.
That in itself says editor is a massive fuckwit, and you should probably take what they say with a mountain of salt because they are equally as desperate to persuade you that their “facts” are true, as they are that the “story” isn’t.
Shut up, you fucking moron —