Hero dog protects teen from home intruders, survives gunshot wounds

A two-year-old German Shepherd named Rex is recovering from being attacked while protecting his 16-year-old owner from burglars.

According to Q13 Fox, police in Des Moines, Washington just south of Seattle, say 16-year-old Javier Mercado hid in a closet and called 9-1-1 when he heard people breaking into his home Wednesday.

He tried to get Rex to hide in the closet with him, but the dog ran downstairs and confronted the burglars.

Javier says he heard gunfire and Rex started yelping.

"I started hearing barking, a lot of barking, and then one of the guys screamed, 'The dog bit me, the dog bit me!'" Javier told Q13 Fox.

Then when the burglars started going toward the room Javier was hiding in, Rex, despite being injured once again ran in and threw himself at the burglars.

The family says Rex was beaten and shot three times but refused to stop protecting Javier.

Javier told Q13, "I just want to thank my dog... If it wasn't for him, I feel like I wouldn't be standing here right now."

Rex is being treated at a local veterinary hospital and is expected to recover.

Find the GoFundMe page for Rex here.