A Snake, A Neighbor, and Blessings

Ok, let me start off by saying this is not really about Joshua, but about all my family. I knew that this would be something everybody wanted to hear about.
For the last 2 nights Malachi (our male beagle) has been barking and we could not stop him. So today I come home in the afternoon and he is barking again. I looked out and he was just circling the grass and barking so I went out to see what was upsetting him so much. I was not prepared for what I saw, a 3 1/2 to 4 foot snake. I thought it was a black snake and I was not too worried, I have handled many snakes growing up. I was going to pick it up and throw it over the fence but I had a bad feeling and decided to get a neighbor to help. (It has been years since I handled one) My neighbor is a young policeman and he came over. But he stopped dead when he saw the snake - he looked at me and said that it was a water moccasin! Here is where the story gets funny (if you can believe that) He and his wife had come over and she said to him kill it and he said it was too big to cut with a shovel , it needed to be shot. So, his wife says do you want me to get your gun and he replies, "no, get yours". Ok, at this point I am picturing a little cap gun, (she is a very little girl) Well she comes back over with a blanket and in the yard opens the blanket and pulls out a very large shotgun! Just to be clear at this point we have put the females dogs and all the children in the house out of the way. Malachi wouldn't go in but he went to a corner and stayed down. Well, this guy was good with a gun, one shot and he blew its head off. He said they carry disease so we carefully shoveled it into a heavy plastic bag and I took it to a dumpster away from the house right away. I thanked the neighbor and let the kids and dogs out after we made sure the yard was safe. At the time it struck me as funny, a snake, a gun, the whole thing. But a few hours later it hit me. My little ones go out at dusk to play in the yard and I think that Malachi saved someones life. At the very least it is a miracle that he is alive and my two pregnant dogs are as well. I just keep thinking about how big that snake was and how it has most likely been in my yard for 2 days. We are blessed to have the dogs and that they watch over us. We are blessed to have good neighbors that will take care of us in a pinch. Mostly we are blessed that the spirit warned me not to touch that snake, it could have been very bad.
As I write this I am stuck at how quiet Malachi is being, no barking. It makes me want to cry, I am so grateful to him, and he still won't let us pet him, he is better but still very shy. I know that he came to our family to watch over us and I am so glad we named him for a prophet, he is a very big blessing.
I also want to tell you this - we are living in WILD KINGDOM! snakes, mice, frogs, skunks, the list keeps getting bigger. Hahaha, I guess I just need to get used to it. When you say your prayers, thank God for my good dog, and for the warning he sent. Thank him for good neighbors and that my family sleeps soundly tonight, I know I will.