Shock as Toddler 'Attacked' by a Sheep Is Saved by Family's Rescue Dog

A video of a rescue dog coming to the aid of a child being "attacked" by a sheep has gone viral on TikTok, where it received over 577,000 views at the time of this reporting.

The clip shared by TikTok user @marisolrushing was overlaid with a message that read: "When our sheep attacked our 2 year old, but our dog saved her."

The video showed the toddler standing next to a small sheep, which was shorter than her, in what appeared to be a backyard setting. The farm animal later began headbutting itself towards the daughter.

As the child kept stepping backwards, the sheep continued to push its head towards the toddler. Then suddenly a dog appeared and chased the sheep away, while the toddler was shown sitting on the ground as the clip ended.

The clip was shared with a caption that read: "Forever grateful we adopted YOU #pets #petsoftiktok #sheep #sheepdog #dog #animals #baby #toddlersoftiktok #saved #savedmylife."

A July 2022 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Injury said that animal-related injuries are "a substantial but under-reported, emerging public health problem contributing considerably to worldwide morbidity and death."

An October 2012 study published in Livestock Production said "handling livestock is a dangerous activity" and "a number of serious injuries and deaths occur every year as a result of animal-related accidents."

A 1998 study of 26,000 farm households conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal BMJ, found that one out of every five youth (those under 20 years old) injuries occurring on farms in the U.S. was animal-related.

The U.K. government's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) warns: "Animals do not need to be aggressive to cause serious harm to, or even kill, a child. The dangers of mature cattle and horses are obvious, but sheep or pigs have caused serious injury, often when apparently playful.

"The best way of reducing the risk from animals is to keep children away from them, or to allow contact only when they are directly supervised by an adult," the HSE says.

Several users on TikTok questioned why the child in the latest viral video was allegedly left alone without any adult supervision.

In a comment that got 719 likes, user ?? ?? wrote: "So the dog was babysitting and the parents were out of the house?"

Lilly [orbiting hearts emoji] asked: "Why is a 2 year old outside by themselves ? [eyebrows raised, wide open eyes emoji]."

TikTokchronicles asked: "Where are you? How come nobody is watching her? [emoji of person with hands in the air]."

Other TikTokers praised the dog for stepping in to protect the toddler.

Miss Ma'am wrote: "The dog was like aw hell [no] not my baby, ya'll hold my dog bowl [crying laughing emoji]."

Angry samurai said: "Aww big sibling to the rescue." User6321423890419 wrote: "Good job! They [dogs] are so good [floating hearts smiley face emoji]."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment. This video has not been independently verified.