A Charleston, S.C., baby boy is safe and his family’s dog hailed a hero after the pooch alerted the boy’s parents about an abusive babysitter.

New parents Benjamin and Hope Jordan were very thorough in their search for a babysitter for their infant son, Finn. After a background check on 22-year-old Alexis Khan came up clean, the Jordans thought they’d found a responsible person to care for their baby while they were at work.

Little did they know the exact opposite was true, that Khan would verbally and physically abuse their 7-month-old son for nearly five months before she was caught. Thanks to the family’s dog, Labrador Retriever–German Shepherd mix Killian, Khan is now behind bars where she belongs.

Killian was the only witness to the abuse Finn suffered at the hands of his babysitter, and the loyal Lab mix wasn’t afraid to make his feelings about Alexis Khan known to his owners. Whenever Khan entered the Jordan’s house, Killian would growl and stand between her and little Finn, seemingly defending the baby from his babysitter. Benjamin and Hope were flabbergasted.

“About five months into her being our baby sitter, we started to notice that our dog was very protective of our son when she would come in the door,” Benjamin tells WCSC. “He was very aggressive towards her and a few times we actually had to physically restrain our dog from going towards her.”

Benjamin and Hope could not believe their dog, who acted warm and friendly towards everyone else he’d ever met, behaved in such an unusual manner around the babysitter.

Taking a page from Lassie’s book, Killian had persistently tried to warn Finn’s parents about the babysitter’s abusive behavior. Finally, Benjamin and Hope could no longer ignore what Killian was trying so desperately to convey. Hope suggested to her husband they hide an iPhone beneath the sofa one day, hoping to record what was going on in their home.

With the phone tucked out of sight, ready to capture the day’s events, Benjamin and Hope left for work. They wondered if perhaps Khan yelled at Killian in their absence, which would have been unacceptable. But the Jordans were not prepared to discover that the woman they’d trusted was acting violently towards their baby — and that’s exactly what they heard on the secret iPhone recording.

“It started with cussing,” Benjamin explains. “Then you hear slap noises and his crying changes from a distress cry to a pain cry. I just wanted to reach through the audio tape, go back in time and just grab him up.”

The concerned parents even heard what they believed to be the sounds of Khan shaking Finn on the recording — something that could have easily killed or permanently disabled their son.

“To know that five months I had handed my child to a monster, not knowing what was going on in my house for that day,” Benjamin says in disbelief.

Khan has since pled guilty to assault and battery in a Charleston Circuit Court. She now must serve 1 to 3 years in prison for abusing Finn. She will be up for parole in 1 year but must remain on a child abuse registry upon release.

Benjamin believes if it weren’t for Killian, Finn might have lost his young life at the hands of his violent babysitter.

“Had our dog not alerted us to the trouble, had my wife’s instincts not said we need to make something happen, it could have been Finn that was killed by the babysitter,” Benjamin says. “You never know.”

Benjamin hopes his family’s story will give other parents pause and encourage them not to ignore any signs that their kids could be in danger — especially if those signs are coming from a faithful family pet.

“He is a very personable dog so for him to show aggression toward anyone is a sign that something was wrong,” Benjamin tells Fox News of hero dog Killian. “We hope other parents … can learn from our lesson.”

Sources: WCSC, Fox News, Townhall.com