11 Heartwarming Stories That Prove Animals Can Teach Us the True Meaning of Kindness

• My neighbor spent two years complaining about my dog, Max. We shared a yard and whenever he came out, Max would go crazy barking. “One more bark and I’m calling animal control,” he’d snap. Then one stormy night, he was the one pounding on my door, begging, “Help! I need Max.” Before I could ask him why, Max started ran out into the storrm. Barking like a crazy animal. Turns out, the storm had knocked out the power in my neighbor’s house. When he had gone to light a candle, he caught a faint smell of gas. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it. The house was dark, the wind was howling, and he was terrified of striking another match. Dogs can smell gas leaks long before we can and that’s what drove Max crazy. He stood there, soaking wet, barking beside the outdoor gas meter. We called the fire department. A tree branch had damaged the gas line running into the house. Gas had been pouring out for hours. One spark would’ve been enough. The firefighter looked at my neighbor and said, “You were lucky you trusted your instincts.” My neighbor shook his head. “No,” he replied, scratching Max behind the ears. “I was lucky I finally trusted his.” I haven’t heard a single complaint about Max since!

• My last breakup was really rough and I wasn’t eating well. My dog would make me follow him to his food bowl where he would get a bite in his mouth, spit it out in front of me, then eat 1 piece at a time, looking at me between each piece like “look, see? This is what you do! Its good. Try it!” He is my best guy and I love him to the ends of the earth.

• In the last two weeks of his life, my dog’s health had deteriorated so quickly. The day before he passed, I took him to the beach to share our last sunset together. I was switching between keeping it together and enjoying the moment with him and being grateful for our time together, to bawling my eyes out imagining life without him. We were sitting facing the ocean and I had him wrapped in a towel, protecting him from the wind and holding him, he leans back and places his head in the crook of my neck. He always comforted me when I cried and even in his state, his love for me stayed constant. A couple and their dog walked by, a chocolate lab. He must’ve sensed something was up because he sat down next to me and just looked over at me, looked at my dog and the expression he had on his face — he knew I was upset and he knew my dog wasn’t okay. It was a bittersweet moment. We really don’t deserve dogs.

• I’ve had kitties lay on me when I was sad, but the sweetest one was my ex bf’s parents’ dog. We stopped over there after work and sat a few minutes. I mentioned to the bf I was getting hungry. Their golden heard me, went straight to his bowl, and got a mouthful of his kibble- came and deposited it next to me on the couch.

• I lost my mum 2 weeks after getting a puppy. I was really struggling with grief and parenting a 2 year old with no grasp of what had happened. Every nap time that dear little pup would climb into my lap and let me snuggle her without wriggling. She 3 now and so emotionally aware, she will always come for a cuddle just when I need it most. She’s a whippet so she’s always up for a snuggle but when I’m sad they are exactly what I need. She also takes such wonderful care of the kiddos whenever they are poorly, she will cuddle up to them on the sofa and provide emotional support.

• I occasionally have severe bouts of anxiety which render me almost inconsolable, I think they could classify as panic attacks. My cat found me during one of these moments where I was curled up on the couch crying, and she started meowing. When I didn’t respond, she jumped next to my head and began to knead my hair with her paws, purring. I think she was trying to help me, and it worked.

• I have a dog named Bowie who is the kindest sweetest thing. I raised him as a puppy so we are very close. When he first witnessed a panic attack he started pacing and crying. Then he would lay on me and lick my face to snap me out of it. He has a 100% success rate. No person or medication could do that for me. He always knows when something is wrong with me, even before I know! And when I have night terrors he knows and will wake me up out of it. He’s a true guardian angel.

• When I was pregnant my cats would come into the room and lay with me when I was tired. They would lay against my stomach and purr. One of them were even protective. One time I was sitting in my living room and there was a knock on the door. My cat immediately floofed and started growling at the door, which was odd since I’ve never seen them do that before. It was funny. Just a delivery of baby stuff was being dropped off. I love my kitties.

• My first marriage had just imploded. My husband out of nowhere said , I don’t love you anymore in fact I have never loved you. You can imagine the utter devastation I felt. I was shaking and crying and went to sit on a chair in the garden as I felt I needed to leave the house. Gorgeous, wonderful Sadie ( black and white springer) came and sat on my knee and nestled into me. Her silent presence was the most comforting experience in my darkest hour. Her love and support of me at that moment is something I will never forget. I love you Sadie. Hope you are springing about in the cornfields of heaven.

• Every morning, our dog, Rosie, ran to the same spot under the porch and refused to come inside. I assumed she was chasing a squirrel. When I tried to pull her out, she actually growled and almost bit me! Then she started carrying her food outside. “Rosie, leave it,” I snapped, taking the bowl away. The next morning, she did it again. Finally, I crawled under the porch to see what she was hiding. To my shock, I felt something warm and soft. There was a tiny stray kitten curled up in the corner, too weak to move. Rosie had been giving it her breakfast. I tried to pull the kitten out, but Rosie stood between us and growled. Then I noticed the kitten’s back leg was badly hurt. We rushed it to the vet, and the vet told me it probably wouldn’t have survived another night. Rosie had been keeping it warm and feeding it for days. The kitten recovered, and from then on, wherever Rosie went, her little rescue followed.

If these stories prove anything, it’s that animals have a lot more going on upstairs than we sometimes give them credit for. They can surprise us, soften the toughest days, and occasionally leave us wondering who is really taking care of whom.

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