A golden retriever has earned the title of the ultimate good boy after he saved a mother and child from a venomous snake.

Laurel Carter, 34, lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, 19-month-old son and their family dog, Pax, who is now being hailed as a hero for saving his owners from a possible snake bite.

The family were recently enjoying the sunshine in the apparent safety of their back yard, with Carter holding her baby son in her arms, when he asked to be put down so he could walk through the fallen leaves.

"Right at that moment Pax dashed up beside me and was immediately bitten in the face by a copperhead I had walked just next to," Carter told Newsweek. "I would have put my son down right on top of it had he not run between us and the snake."

When her husband shouted and told her to look down, she said: "I knew immediately it was a coppherhead. They are common in our area so we all know how to identify them even as children."

And Carter, who works as a primary care doctor and has previously treated patients for coppherhead bites, knows "how deadly they can be."

Copperheads are large, venomous snakes found across the eastern United States, and can grow up to 36 inches long, according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute.

They hunt by ambushing their prey before subduing them with venom and swallowing them whole, and while they generally eat mice, birds and other smaller prey, their venom can be deadly to larger animals.

Carter and her husband rushed four-year-old Pax to the emergency vet, as the brave dog began whimpering from the "pain and swelling" to his bite, and he was quickly treated with pain medication and antivenom.

"Within a few hours he started to feel better and we were released home," Carter said, sharing the happy news that Pax is "getting pain medication at home and making a full recovery."

She shared the incredible story on Reddit sub r/rarepuppers through her account TurtleCam5 on September 23, writing: "Pax saved me and my son from a copperhead bite today. He's doing ok and back home."

Photos showed Pax in the veterinarian's office getting treatment, an IV visible in his back leg, and getting plenty of attention from the family.

Reddit users were in awe, with the post racking up over 26,000 upvotes in a few short days, as one commenter wrote: "What a good boy! Lots of kisses and treats for Pax tonight!"

Another declared Pax needed "steak dinner for the rest of his life," while one said: "Not all heroes wear capes, they wear dog tags."

Plenty praised the "brave boy," while one called him a "little hero," and while Carter's family spent $1,800 on vet bills, they had no regrets.

"I truly believe I would have put my son down right on top of the snake if Pax hadn't run up between us," she told Newsweek.

The retriever is "so gentle with my son, he plays with him all the time", she revealed. "He even pushes other dogs away when they get near him — not overly aggressive, but he clearly views my son as his puppy, not theirs."

She went on to explain that Pax was named after a character in a book series who gives his life to protect another, and declared: "He's living up to his name."

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.