A Gold Coast woman is mourning the loss of her beloved Chihuahua after it died in a David and Goliath battle with a brown snake.

Evangeline Lim, 54, believes 10-year-old Cooper was trying to save her when he took on the highly venomous snake just as she was about to step outside to hang out her washing last week.

Cooper died after being bitten by a snake. (Gold Coast Bulletin)

"The snake was upside down and Cooper was on top of it and wrestling," the Hope Island woman told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

"He was obviously saving me from the snake."

Ms Lim and her partner managed to rescue Cooper, by putting a pot plant on top of the snake but the tiny pooch had been bitten.

Cooper's owners said they believe he was trying to save the family from the snake. (Gold Coast Bulletin)

“Cooper seemed fine,” Ms Lim said of the minutes leading to his death.

“He seemed totally fine, he wasn’t panting, he was just sitting there.”

A short time later, Cooper disappeared and was found cowering under a couch near the pool.

“We rushed to get to the car to take him to the vet and my daughter was backing the car out ... but by this point he was already going into cardiac arrest," Ms Lim said.

“That’s literally in a 10-minute period.”

Cooper's owners have been left devastated. (Gold Coast Bulletin)

Ms Lim said the family has been left devastated by Cooper's death.

She said locals need to be aware that deadly snakes may be lurking in their backyards, while security officers at their Riverleigh Drive gated estate have reported spotting snakes every day.

With AAP