Heroic Animals Facts

A neighbor's dog attacked 4-year-old Jeremy Triantafilo in his Bakersfield driveway, biting his leg and dragging him. His cat Tara streaked across the frame, body-slammed the dog, and chased it off the property. Jeremy needed 10 stitches. The security footage went viral with over 21 million views in days.

Lucca was a Marine Corps bomb dog who worked Iraq and Afghanistan for six years. In more than 400 missions, no Marine on her patrols was ever hurt. On March 23, 2012, a bomb took her front leg. Her handler carried her out. She was walking again within ten days, and in 2016 became the first US Marine Corps dog awarded Britain's Dickin Medal for bravery. She retired to the Marine who had been her very first handler.

Buford, a Pyrenees-Anatolian ranch dog, found 2-year-old Boden Allen alone in the Arizona desert and walked him 7 miles home through mountain-lion country. State police spotted two mountain lions on his trail. Boden told his rescuers: "I followed the dog back." Buford became an honorary search and rescue member.

Togo was 12 years old in 1925. That's ancient for a sled dog. Diphtheria threatened to kill children across Nome, Alaska. Musher Leonhard Seppala and Togo ran the serum relay's longest, most dangerous leg. It covered over 260 miles, including a deadly crossing of the frozen Norton Sound. Balto ran the final 55 miles into town. He got the parade, the movie, and the Central Park statue. Togo got almost nothing.