64 Times Dogs Surprised Humans With Their Incredibly Heroic Acts

“About 11am this morning, Peanut started going crazy at our house,” reads the text of a letter written by her new owner and shared in the post. “She was running up and down the stairs, barking and yelping. She then went and got my husband, who was in the garage working on some projects, and alerted him that she wanted to go outside. He said he could hear her running around upstairs but didn’t understand why.”

It turns out there was a very good reason for Peanut’s behavior, the dog apparently sensed something was amiss outside.

“He let her outside where she went barreling into the field behind our house at full speed,” the letter says. “My husband followed her and to his surprise, he found a naked, shivering, 3 year old girl curled up in a ball. He scooped her up, wrapped her in his sweatshirt, and brought her inside. He called 911 and reported the incident.”

After coming home from Iraq, Atlas' owner struggled with PTSD. After regular visits to VA doctor, he ended up on a cocktail of 33 pills that left him feeling hazy and helpless. Wanting to make a change he adopted Atlas, who has turned out to be a lifesaver. Atlas has been trained to sense the changes in his owner that precede a terrifying flashback and respond by redirecting his owner's attention. With this support, her owner feels in control of his life once again and is a more active part of his family. Atlas is also the "face" of, and inspiration behind the creation of The Battle Buddy Foundation, a beacon of hope to many other veterans struggling to cope.

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.

Aladdin was found severely emaciated in 2013. He was missing 12 teeth and had open wounds. Both of his back legs and tail had been broken. Despite this, his tail never stopped wagging. Aladdin had a rough recovery but he overcame the obstacles put before him, including learn to trust humans again. Within the year he was a certified therapy dog and an unstoppable multi-hyphenate. Aladdin is a Ronald McDonald House Ambassador dog, visiting schools to help with anti-bullying programs. He is also a trained crisis response dog and spent a week in Orlando last year after the Pulse nightclub shooting doing therapy visits and fundraising for the Victims Fund. He works with the Philadelphia Police fundraising for the Fallen Officers Fund and attends the events they do with special needs children. He is an ambassador dog for Tito's Vodka for Dog People Campaign and together they have raised over $300,000 for rescues and shelters all over. He also works with veterans and PACT for Animals and as a model/ambassador for Show Your Soft Side, a nationwide animal abuse campaign.

“Creature” had come across Carmen Mitchell, who suffers from dementia on one of his night walks. Mitchell was laying in the woods, barefoot and covered in dirt, about a half a mile away from her Piscataway home, shivering from cold.

Adak is a 13-year-old German Shepherd. His longevity and accomplishments as an explosive detection dog are unmatched. He was a Contract Working Dog for the U.S. State Department in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Army, Ft. McCoy and for a private business. During this career, Adak has sniffed out explosives before they could detonate during large events, assisted in rescuing hostages during complex terrorist attacks and has helped to protect dignitaries across the globe. He is now retired and has easily transitioned into a undramatic home life.

On July 21, 2016, a team of officers from the U.S. Forest Service and deputies from the Trinity County Sheriff's Office were investigating an illegal marijuana garden on public lands within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Two suspects attempted to flee and Ice was deployed to capture one of the suspects. As Ice was apprehending the suspect, the suspect stabbed the dog twice with a large knife. Despite Ice's serious wounds, Ice held the suspect until they were in custody. Ice's handler and the team bandaged the dog's wounds and took turns carrying him through rugged terrain until reaching a helicopter that could airlift the dog to a hospital. Ice has since made a full recovery and has returned to duty.

Just two weeks after finding a forever home, the Husky-mix puppy Hunter thanked his adoptive family by rescuing them right back. The family says they were awakened around midnight to a barking dog who led them to their kitchen, where a burner had been emitting dangerous fumes for six hours