When you ride bulls, you kind of expect to get thrown off now and then. But when 18-year-old Cody Hooks was bucked from the bull he was riding in a rodeo in Belton, Texas, he was knocked unconscious. He was completely helpless, and the angry bull was looking for a target.
Two bullfighters ran into the ring to try to distract the bull from Cody, but that didn’t last long. The bull was furious.
According to Houston’s KHOU-TV, it was at that point, in an act of selfless love, that Cody’s father, Landis Hooks, jumped into the ring to shield his son from the charging bull by covering him with his own body.
Landis took a jab from the bull, but is okay. And Cody seems to be recovering well, too. He plans to be back riding bulls just as soon as the doctor clears him.
Cody later posted the whole scene on Instagram to thank his heroic dad for protecting him, saying the whole episode could have been much worse.
“Not one to post falling off, but big thanks to my dad @hooks.landis and the bullfighters last night in Belton, Tx could’ve been a h**** lot worse. #blessed,” his post read.
The video went viral, with CBS Austin reporting hundreds of thousands of views. Other clips now have more than a million views.
Comments on social media lauded Landis Hooks as “a pure cowboy,” “the definition of a MAN” and “quite a man and father.”
Some are calling him “Father of the Year,” GodUpdates reports. As for Landis Hooks, he was just doing what fathers do.
“I would do anything to save my children, no matter what it is,” he said.
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