18 Heroic Animals Who Stepped Up to Save Human Lives

If you are a pet owner you probably cannot imagine your life without your furry friend. More than that there are people who wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for their beloved pets. Dogs, cats, and even wild animals have taken action and become superheroes to save humans and they are forever grateful.

At Bright Side we selected a series of stories about animals who are life-saving angels. We totally recommend having some tissues on the side, because things are going to get pretty emotional.

• When a fire started in the neighbor’s house and was headed straight for theirs, Sasha the Pit Bull started barking aggressively to wake up her owners in the middle of the night. Then the dog dragged their baby girl by her diaper outside the house. The mother took both the baby and the dog to safety. As she later stated about her beloved dog, “She’s always been a part of the family. Now she deserves a steak.”
• During his family trip to India, a man recalls, they were all walking on a part of a mountain with a lot of monkeys. The monkeys kept on trying to get the family’s food when his 7-year-old cousin, while looking over the bridge, started to tip over the railing and was about to fall over. One of the monkeys grabbed his shirt and pulled him back, saving his life. Of course, the monkeys got a lot of snacks afterward.
• A man was playing a video game when his 6-month-old dog started whining. He didn’t give it much thought, at first, but then the dog put his paw on his hands and tried to take away his controller. When he realized what was happening, he found his fiancé in the bathtub having a hypoglycemic seizure. The man said after the event that his dog is “an unbelievably smart animal. I wish everyone could have a pet like him, but he’s all mine.”

• In the middle of the night, 4 burglars broke into a house in the US and one of them shot at the owner. His brave dog, Lefty, instinctively threw herself in front of him to protect him from getting shot herself. After the burglars left, she was transferred to the vet where the doctors had to amputate her right leg. The hospital called for donations for the heroic dog’s treatment and 100% of the expenses got covered!
• A woman was saved by her smart feline as a young girl and she recalls this story with gratitude. One night, their Persian cat suddenly started acting out, meowing, pawing at her mom, and looking up at the girl’s room. The mother went to her daughter’s room to see what was wrong and found that her daughter was having an asthma attack in her sleep. The girl was quickly transferred to the hospital and the cat was surely praised as a hero.
• This man recalls that while he was walking his dog one day and was about to cross the road, his dog pulled him back abruptly. The owner thought that she was just acting up, but just a second afterward, he saw a van that had mounted the curb going 60 mph in a 20 mph school zone. His beloved dog saved his life in just a few seconds.

• Yolanda the service dog saved her blind mother by dialing 911 and calling the police when their house caught fire. The woman recalls shouting the word “danger” which was the dog’s emergency alert and then hearing the beeping of her phone buttons being pushed. “Oh my lord, she called the police,” she said. But it wasn’t a first for Yolanda, years ago when her owner fell and remained unconscious, she also called the police.
• A boy, who’s now a man remembering the story, was walking toward a highly venomous snake that was coiled up and hissing at him. Then his brave Doberman ran in front of him and headbutted him so he’d stay down, protecting him from the dangerous snake. His wild barking brought the toddler’s mom out, who came and picked the boy up a few seconds later.
• A man tells a story that his parents had told him about how their dog saved his life during a family trip to the mountains. While hiking up to a waterfall, the toddler tripped and started to slide off the side of the path under the hand railing. Their caring doggy grabbed the boy by his coat and pulled him back right before he fell down a steep bank into a fast-moving river. The dog and the boy became best friends after that.

• Toby was just 2 years old when he suddenly saw his beloved owner choking on a piece of apple she had just eaten. To the woman’s surprise, who felt absolutely helpless, her dog jumped on her chest starting to perform a pseudo version of the Heimlich, without even being trained to. As a result, the piece of apple unstuck freeing her airway so she could breathe. “Once I started breathing again, he licked my face...” his mom said.
• When a woman tried to move a 600 kg cow and its calf from a certain area in her farmhouse, the cow got angry and attacked her in an attempt to protect her baby. The helpless woman reported that all she could see was the cow’s massive body and that she was about to get crushed, since escaping was impossible. Her loyal horse companion, Kerry Gold, then rushed in, kicking the cow who started to back up while the woman crawled to safety.
• A young boy in Canada was in the pasture walking with his horse, Sunny, when suddenly the horse, that was calm and well-behaved, started acting up. Sunny knocked the boy over with his big head and took off into the brush. When he emerged from the brush, he was also chasing a pack of 5 mangy looking coyotes. The boy — now a man — recalls watching the horse chase the predators away for a long time and then coming back to him.

• When a young man with bipolar disorder jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge he found himself on the surface being helped by a sea lion. In a statement, he said, “Something brushed by my legs... I thought it was a shark. It circled beneath me, bumping me up.” Later, a man emailed him telling him that he saw the whole thing and that his savior was a sea lion — he even had pictures of it. The picture was too hard for him to look at, so he decided to never let it go public.
• One afternoon, while a mother and son were chilling in their backyard on a swing set, one of their 2 dogs, Zack and Jazzie, started to demand that all of them had to leave the backyard. The dog became more and more demanding, so they finally followed him and once they were about 50 yards away from the house, they heard a massive crack. A giant branch from one of their trees had snapped and fallen, completely destroying the swing set. Everyone was saved that day.
• A huge and very quiet St. Bernard, named Nana, saved an 18-month old toddler from kidnapping. The family lived in the countryside. The girl was playing outside with her 2 older sisters and their dog when their mom heard Nana barking furiously. She ran outside to see the dog grabbing her daughter by the diaper, and ripping her out of a stranger’s car who had pulled over, trying to take the toddler. The mom took the other kids inside and locked the doors while the man drove away.

• Frida is a rescue dog, at least she was, since she recently retired from her career. She was part of the Mexican rescue team during the devastating earthquakes in 2017. The dog located and helped the crew save over 50 people during her career. She even got awarded for her service. She also participated in rescue missions in Haiti back in 2010, Guatemala in 2012, and Ecuador in 2016.
• Every night, the dog in this story used to sleep in her crate, but one night she refused to go inside. An old lady, her owner, decided not to go to bed and stay with her for a little bit to see what was wrong. Suddenly she started feeling weird. She immediately realized that she was having a heart attack and called 911. If the dog hadn’t gotten her up, she’d have just fallen asleep and died in bed.
• Dan had adopted a shelter dog named Blox. One night, Dan’s little brother was hanging out in the basement and fell asleep with a lit candle near him. The house caught fire, while both brothers were sleeping. Blox ran into Dan’s room jumping on the bed and barking aggressively in his face. Dan saw the fire and ran out of the house. Blox stood at the top of the basement stairs barking nonstop so that his brother, who was still trapped down there, knew where the exit was. Everyone got out safe!

Bonus: Buddy the brave and smart German Shepherd led the Alaska State Troopers to his owner’s burning cabin at night.

All of these stories have the ability to restore your hope in the world, as long as there is love. How does your pet show its unconditional love and affection to you? Do you know any amazing hero-animals like these? Share your pictures and stories in the comments.