Loyal, intuitive, and adorable—these dog qualities shouldn’t come as a surprise. But heroic? Some dogs take it upon themselves to go above and beyond the call of duty. Check out these seven gallant pooches in action.
Blind dog saves a drowning girl
When Norm, a blind dog, heard a young girl struggling with a swift current while on a walk with his parent one fateful morning, he took to the water to investigate. By using his heightened sense of hearing, he pinpointed the location of the cries for help and was able to rescue the girl who had paddled beyond the point of safety by pulling her back to shore—immortalizing his status as a canine crusader.
Adopted dog saves newborn baby
When Duke realized that something was wrong with his newborn pal, Harper, he jetted to his parents’ bed to alert them. By shaking uncontrollably, this typically super obedient dog managed to get their attention with his bizarre behavior, thus alerting them to the fact that their nine-week-old infant had stopped breathing. Thanks to this remarkably astute dog, Harper has her life today.
Dog rescues baby
Hunter led his owner on a half mile goose chase through the neighborhood, straight to an infant child in bad shape following an incident in the bathtub. Though Hunter had previously flunked out of a child rescue training program due to poor performance, it would appear that he got his chance to be a hero after all.
Mama dog saves her puppy
This mama retriever dutifully retrieves her little one out of the pool when he finds himself in over his head and unable to get out. When nudging the pup up and out of the pool doesn’t work, she finds her way around to pick it up by the scruff of its neck and pull it to safety.
Dog calls 9-1-1 to save his parent’s life
Buddy’s parent, Joe, suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving in the military, resulting in sporadic seizures. When Joe took Buddy under his wing, he personally trained the dog to call 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency. One day, this trick came in handy—during a particularly acute episode, Buddy bit down on the phone (which was programmed to speed dial 9-1-1) to bring it to Joe. When Joe was unable to reach the phone, the dog’s bark notified the dispatcher on the other end that something, indeed, was quite wrong. Luckily, the paramedics arrived in time to save Joe, thanks to the help of his trusty sidekick.
Hero pit bull saves his parent from an intruder
Kilo, the courageous pit bull, came to the rescue when a phony delivery guy found his way into Nicole and Justin’s apartment in Staten Island. While the perpetrator had Justin turn his back to search for a pen to sign for his package, he took the opportunity to whip out his gun. Though Justin was able to push him out the door, he only got the door halfway shut. That’s where Kilo came in. The 12-year-old pit bull lunged at the criminal, but was shot at before the gunman was able to break free and flee the scene. Luckily, the bullet entered Kilo’s head at such an angle that it bounced off his skull and left his body through his neck. Miraculously, Kilo survived with no brain damage. Then the founder of FroBo came to the aid of the couple when they were slammed with a $2,200 vet bill and took care of it for them!
Dog leads police to his burning house
Watch this shepherd lead the police to his burning home at full speed. Without a moment to spare, this four-legged sentinel goes the distance to assist in stopping the fire from ravaging his family’s home.
Top image via Flickr/Phil Romans