Man’s best friend – that is the best way to describe a dog. From the largest to the smallest, there is no denying the love and loyalty that dogs bring to their friendships with their humans. They will literally lay down their lives without a moment of hesitation for us – and for that reason, we don’t deserve dogs. Here are 15 four-legged heroes that are absolutely incredible.
#1 Layka The Hero Military Dog
This dog is the definition of canine hero. She was shot 4 times by an AK-47 at point-blank range! 4 times! Still, this incredible dog managed to attack and subdue the insurgent who was trying to harm her handler. This tough little hero managed to survive a 7-hour surgery. After that, she was recently awarded a medal for her heroism. She definitely deserves all the praise.
#2 Geo The Puppy
8-month-old Geo was just a puppy when he sprang into action and saved his human best friend. Charlie Riley was out in the street when a truck was coming his way. Little Geo courageously pushed the boy out of the way – taking the hit and getting run over in Charlie’s place. If that doesn’t make you cry, I don’t know what will. Geo, you’re such a little angel.
#3 The Gas Leak
This little dog was barking at his owner for a good thirty minutes, despite the fact they’d just taken him outside. Through the persistence, the owner discovered there was a gas leak in the apartment and the dog was warning them. Always trust your pets because they know things.
#4 Dog Saves Owner’s Life In Freezing Conditions
A man broke his neck outdoors during the freezing conditions. He managed to survived the 24 hours outside thanks to his five-year-old Golden Retriever, Kelsey, who laid on top of him for the whole night and kept barking for help. She kept him awake by licking his hands and face. What a good girl.
#5 Blind Molly Saves Family
When a house caught fire at 2 am on November 2016, it was the blind dog Molly who became the hero of the night. Prior to the fire she was blind and had been given 2-4 months to live. Still, she didn’t let any of that stop her from saving the lives of 7 people, 2 dogs, and 4 cats. It’s also wonderful to know that 2 years later, this little hero is still alive and going strong.
#6 Maggie
Sometimes all a hero needs to do is just be kind and show up for those in need. And that is Maggie. Every night, this gentle soul would sneak out of her kennel in order to comfort the crying foster puppies. That made a world of difference to them. What a little guardian angel.
#7 Abbie
Abbie is a hero because she recognized when her best friend Benjamin was in trouble. The child was choking, and Abbie instinctively knew to go get his mom. This act saved his life.
#8 TatorTot Returns the Favor
TatorTot was a pit bull in the shelter, who was a mere few hours away from being euthanized. A woman came to the shelter looking to adopt a family pet, and she went on to save TatorTot’s life, giving him a chance to be a happy dog in a loving home. TatorTot proved his loyalty to his new family less than a week later when he saved her 4-year-old son. That night, in particular, TatorTot was running back and forth in the house, barking. At first, she assumed he hadn’t gotten enough exercise, but TatorTot wouldn’t stop going to her son’s room, prompting her to investigate. That’s when she found him, barely breathing. TatorTot climbed onto his bed, barking and licking him.
#9 Frida
After the Mexican city of Puebla experienced their devastating 2017 earthquake, Frida is the brave girl who helped rescue people from the rubble. In the aftermath, Frida, who is a service dog in the Mexican Navy, was deployed to sift through the rubble and find survivors. Wearing her protective goggles and little booties, this cutie managed to locate 52 survivors.
#10 Figo
Figo is a service dog trained to get his blind owner from Point A to Point B by the safest way possible. One day when Figo saw a bus that was on the collision course with his owner, he jumped into action. The heroic service dog jumped between the bus and his owner, taking the hit for her.
#11 Chako
Dogs are able to sense the malice in others and recognize dangerous situations. When Chako’s owner was in a relationship with an abusive partner, the dog did everything he could to protect her and keep her safe. This included getting between his owner and her abuser, taking 12 stab wounds for her after she was threatened with a knife. I hope for Chako’s sake she left that person for good and pressed charges.
#12 Storm
A dog’s kindness and compassion doesn’t just stop at humans. It extends to other animals as well. Storm showed his heroic side after he sprung to action and saved an injured baby deer from drowning.
#13 Lilly
Lilly is a pit bull, whose breed often gets a bad rap. However, in May 2012, Lilly showed the world just how wonderful pit bulls are with her unwavering loyalty. When her owner, Christine Spain, fell unconscious onto the train tracks, Lilly acted fast. With a freight train fast approaching, Lilly shielded her owner’s body, taking the hit herself. Lilly suffered extreme injuries as a result, but even then that didn’t stop her from watching over Christine in the aftermath as medical help arrived.
#14 Doggie Medicine
Sometimes a hero doesn’t need to do anything extreme at all. Sometimes all it takes to be a canine hero is just comfort someone when they’re sick. This dog is so pure and precious, whenever his owner is sick he lies on them, believing that his love is the cure. I’m crying, that’s so touching!
#15 Bretagne
We all remember 9/11. The memory is one that our nation can’t forget. It was a tragedy that got us to rally together as a country, our dogs included. There were many search and rescue dogs at ground zero that were just as valuable and heroic as their human counterparts. Sadly, they’ve all passed away now. Bretagne was the last survivor of the 9/11 search and rescue dogs. She was 2-years-old at the time and passed away at the old age of 16.
