An Alabama man is crediting his dog for saving his life after a near-miss with a venomous snake by the water’s edge in Tuscaloosa County. Zackary Pate, 35, was at the lake on his Brookwood property, taking his daily walk with 22-month-old cane corso, Ruger, when they reached the dam. That’s when the heroic dog did something unexpected. “Ruger started nipping at my leg and wrapping his legs around me, like trying to pull me away,” Zackary explained to The Epoch Times. “His dewclaws cut my legs up. We always play rough, but this was different.” Every time Zackary, a maintenance tech, turned to scold his dog, Ruger kept dodging behind him. After Zackary reached for Ruger’s tail to hold and correct him, he noticed the dog shaking his head vigorously back and forth. “First I thought it was a stick, which he plays with in the water,” Zackary recalled. …