(UPI) A Florida grandmother said her protective pit bulls rescued her two young grandchildren from an attack by a deadly copperhead snake.

Melissa Butt said her grandchildren, Zayden, 4, and Mallory, 1, were playing in the garden at her Brandon home when her dogs, Slayer and Paco, ran over to the kids and jumped between them and a copperhead snake they spotted in the grass.

The dogs barked at the snake to leave, causing the serpent to strike.

Butt said the pit bulls vanquished the serpent, but not before Slayer was bitten twice in the face and Paco sustained a bite to the elbow.

Butt rushed the dogs to Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners Hospital in Brandon.

"We need to get the anti-venom...quickly, in order for them to get a good prognosis. It is very, very painful," Dr. Shelby Loos told WFLA-TV. We give them medicine for pain and make them as comfortable as possible. But, we have to act fast.

Butt said she was worried about raising enough money to cover the cost of the canine's care.

"They don't ask for anything. All they want is your love, so it's very hard to see them in need, and not be able to do a whole lot for them," Butt told WTVJ-TV.

Animal rescue group Frankie's Friends stepped in to help with some emergency fundraising that was able to cover the cost of the life-saving treatment for the two dogs.

Butt said Paco has recovered and is already back at home, while Slayer is improving at the animal hospital.

"I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude to Blue Pearl and Frankie's Friends. I don't know what I would've done without them," Butt said.

Copyright 2017 by United Press International