A brave dog risked his own life to help rescuers catch a ferocious rat snake.

Prangthip Chaturong, 49, became concerned when she heard her brown poodle Yao barking for an hour in the backyard of her home in Udon Thani, northeastern Thailand, last Friday (24/05) morning.

The dog owner went out to stop him but was stunned to see her pooch, named Yao, was trying to fight the terrifying snake, which kills its prey by biting them.

The dog refused to move and continued barking at the snake while scratching at it with his paws. Prangthip then decided to call the rescue foundation for help.

Prangthip said: “I was very scared that my dog would get bitten. I kept telling him to stop and give up but he didn’t, so I called the snake catchers.”

Rescue workers arrived at the home. They waited for the snake to calm down and planned to catch it with the lasso while Yao was standing next to them and approaching it from time to time.

Whenever the rescuers could pin down the snake's body with the steel rod, Yao quickly took the serpent in his mouth. The determined dog eventually allowed the workers to catch the snake and put it in a bag.

According to the rescuers, they took a longer time to catch the snake as it was being very aggressive towards the dog,

Relieved resident Prangthip said that Yao is a very smart and reliable dog which always barks when he sees any strangers and dangerous animals inside the house.

She said: “Our house is surrounded by fields and ponds, so many snakes and reptiles like to come in here but Yao can take care of them and scare them away.

“Though he couldn’t scare this snake this time, I’m still impressed by how smart and loyal he is to me.”

The rat snake, estimated to be five feet long, was carried away and released back into the wild several miles away.