25 Dogs Will 'Surprise You' With Their Weird Heroic Acts

Many of us, especially those of us who grew up with TV classics like Lassie, have a soft spot for heroic dogs.

Dogs are everyday heroes in so many ways, from guide dogs to rescue dogs and those that keep us safe by sniffing out explosives and drugs, there are countless 'tails' of man’s best friend standing up and doing amazing things. Sometimes dogs are heroes just by being our companions, loyal and non-judgemental friends we can always rely on when times are 'ruff.'

Here at Bored Panda we have decided to compile a list of just some of those stories, courageous canines that took on situations by the scruff of the neck and emerged victorious. Scroll down below to check them out, and feel free to add your own stories in the comments! Click Next To Start Slideshow

#25 University Of Illinois Awarded An Honorary Master's Degree To Hero, A Service Dog Who Attended Each One Of His Owner's Classes

#24 My Best Friend Turns 12 Today. She's Flown In Helicopters, Saved Me From Dozens Of Bears, And Volunteered As A Therapy Dog At A Local Hospital. She's Definitely Earned A Day Off Today

#23 Kitty Was Being Attacked By 2 Coyotes Who Were Shaking Her By Neck And Tail When Pit Bull Jack Dashed In To Fight Them Off

#22 When Jerry Flanigan Was Attacked By Two Pitbulls, His Pet Dog Katy Mae Got On Top Of Him, Shielding His Neck Area With Her Body. According To The Vet She Could've Died As One Of The Bites Was Next To Her Jugular

#21 Kabang - A Dog That Lost Half Her Face When She Knocked Over A Motorcycle, Saving Two Children From A Crash

#20 This Mama Dog Saved Her Puppies From A Fire And Put Them On The Fire Truck

#19 I Walked In To See My Pitbull, Akasha, Who Has Never Had Puppies, Is Now Nursing A 4 Week Old Feral Kitten I Saved.. Nature Is Amazing

#18 Today I Met A Real Hero. Meet Sam, Who Recently Retired After 10 Years And Over 300 Children Found As A Search And Rescue Dog In PA

#17 Feral Dog Rex Was Rescued And Adopted By Ed Gernon. The Dog Found A Dying Hummingbird "Hummer" While Out On A Walk And Refused To Leave The Tiny Bird. Ed Ended Up Taking Her In And The Pair Nursed Her Back To Health

#16 Pitbull Baby Saved The Entire Family When Fire Broke Out In Their House One Night, While Everyone Was Asleep. She Not Only Alerted The Family, But Ran Back Into The Flames To Rescue The Five Family Dogs, Even Dragging One Scared Pooch Out Of The Burning House

#15 Whenever I'm Sick, My Dog Thinks His Love Is The Cure

#14 Luca - Search And Rescue Dog
On March 15, 2016, Fort Worth Police were dispatched to find a missing endangered male with Alzheimer's lost near a salvage yard. After an extensive search, the police called in Luca, a retired Search-and-Rescue (SAR) German Shepherd, for help. Luca's former handler and current dog dad Officer Brock believed 10-year-old Luca was up for the task. Luca easily fell back into his training and used his SAR skills to search for the missing man, eventually locating an opening of brush which led to a very steep hill followed by a drop-off. Due to terrain, a PD helicopter responded and immediately observed the lost man in the river, stuck in waist-high mud. Had Luca not tracked the man's trail and located him, the man could've drowned in the cold, fast-moving river. Luca's love and dedication to SAR shows the resilience of older dogs and how training doesn't go away just because they retire.

#13 Dog Named Storm Saved An Injured Baby Deer From Drowning

#12 Pit Bull Lilly Saved Her Unconscious Owner From Getting Hit By A Freight Train By Covering Her Body And Taking The Hit Herself
One late evening in May 2012, a freight train conductor riding in Shirley, Massachusetts saw the silhouette of a person and a dog on the tracks ahead. He radioed for the train to stop, but could tell there wasn’t going to be enough time. Christine Spain had tripped on the tracks while walking her dog, Lilly, and fell unconscious. The conductor saw that the silhouette was moving — Lilly was attempting to pull her immobilized owner off the tracks. As the train passed over the pair, the conductor claims to have felt a thump. When he was able to safely exit the train, he found Spain unscathed; Lilly had covered her owner and took the hit for her. While waiting for emergency services, Lilly continued to watch over Spain, though the dog herself was suffering from extreme injuries, including to her front right leg, which had to be amputated in surgery.

#11 Chako Saved His Owner From An Abusive Partner Who Threatened Her With A Knife, Taking 12 Stab Wounds

#10 When This Service Dog, Figo, Saw A Bus Heading Towards His Blind Owner, He Jumped Between Them In Attempt To Take Most Of The Hit For Her

#9 A Woman Saved A Pit Bull Just Hours Before He Was Scheduled To Be Euthanized And Less Than A Week Later It Returned The Favor When He Helped Save Her 4-Year-Old Son
A woman saved a pit bull named TatorTot just hours before he was scheduled to be euthanized and less than a week later TatorTot returned the favor when he helped save her 4-year-old son. That night the pit bull began barking and running back and forth between woman and her son. She thought that TatorTot just hadn’t exercised out all of his energy, but the pit bull wouldn’t give up until she finally went to check on her son. He was barely breathing, TatorTot was on his bed, barking and pawing at him, licking his face.

#8 This Is Frida - The Good Girl Who Saved 52 People From Mexico's Earthquake

#7 Abbie Saved Little Benjamin By Letting His Mom Know He's Choking

#6 Our Blind Dog Molly Saved The Lives Of 7 People, 2 Dogs, And 4 Cats From Fire
Our house caught fire at 2 am in November, 2016. Our dog Molly woke us up. She saved the lives of 7 people, 2 dogs, and 4 cats. She was blind and given 2 months to live 4 months before the fire. 2 years later, and she is still alive and kicking. We take her to the vet weekly to get fluid drained from her lungs. She is still happy and wagging.

#5 Maggie Snuck Out Of Her Kennel At Night To Comfort Crying Foster Puppies

#4 Dog Saves Owner’s Life By Lying On Him For Nearly 24 Hours In Freezing Conditions
A man who broke his neck outdoors in freezing conditions survived lying in snow for nearly 24 hours thanks to his dog, who kept him warm through the night and barked for help. Anticipating a journey of only several metres, man was wearing just long johns, a shirt and slippers when he went outside, despite the temperature being around -4C. However, he slipped and broke his neck. Kelsey, five-year-old Golden Retriever, kept him warm by lying on top of him, and kept him awake by licking his hands and face

#3 Tonight This Guy Barked At Me For Thirty Minutes To Take Him Out Despite Just Going. Turned Out We Had A Gas Leak In Our Apartment And He Just Wanted Us To Get Out

#2 An 8 Month Old Puppy Geo Saved Charlie Riley From Being Hit By A Truck By Pushing The Boy Out Of The Way And Getting Hit And Run Over Instead

#1 Layka The Hero Military Dog. Despite Getting Shot 4 Times By An Ak-47 At Point Blank Range, She Still Attacked And Subdued The Insurgent Who Was Attacking Her Handler She Survived A 7 Hour Surgery And Was Recently Awarded A Medal For Her Heroism

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