hero

We hear about dogs saving people's lives all the time, but what about cats? Can cats be 'heroic'? With this video uploaded to Facebook, the answer to that question is a definite yes. 

DLore Álvarez, from Bogota, Colombia, shared an incredible video on Facebook, of her cat rescuing her son. The cat named Gatubela stopping her little boy, Samuel, from heading towards dangerous staircase.

Samuel, one-years-old, was crawling towards the staircase, as seen in the security footage uploaded to Facebook, when Gatubela quickly jumps into action. Gatubela inserts itself between the toddler and the dangerously steep fall of approximately 12 steps. 

We are in complete awe and now know that yes, cat's can definitely be defined as "heroes."

Meet Sasha Pesic! Founder of Sasha's Shelter in the Serbian city of Nis. His journey that lead him down this path all started in 2008, when when Sasha was returning to his home in Nis and happened to come across four abandoned puppies along the way. Even without financial conditions, Sasha was moved by these four abandoned pups and decided to help them.

It was in that moment, through that small act of love that sparked a greater purpose in Sasha and has made him one of the leading defenders of animals in Serbia!

The Brazilian and dog-loving Priest, Padre Joao Paulo Araujo Gomes, is the hero we need. 

Gravatá, Brazil, is a city where there are too many stray dogs in desperate need of a forever home. Kind-hearted Father João Paulo Araujo Gomes, who is the head of the parish of Santana, brings in these stray dogs into the mass on Sundays, in hopes families will provide them with a forever home. 

And it's working. 

Story via Metro.co.uk

Meet one of the good-est dogs in the world at the moment! A declassified military K9, who is being labeled as a hero after aiding in the capture, and take down of the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 

According to Army General and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, the heroic dog's name will not be release for security reasons. The gender of dog is also classified information that will not be revealed. The only information known about the k9 is the breed -- a Belgian Malinois.

Reported by USA Today, it is mentioned that the dog did acquire slight wounds in the massive operation to take down al-Baghdadi. However, our heroic dog has already returned to duty after treatment. 

Rightfully so, military's top officer, and the US President, have both credited the hound's "tremendous service."

"Our canine, I call it a dog, a beautiful dog – a talented dog – was injured and brought back," Trump said.

Thank you, declassified hero! We adore you!

Currently, the Twitterverse is taking a moment to appreciate the Belgian Malinois breed:

Scott Poore, a Kansas City animal advocate, has moved into an animal shelter, Great Plains SPCA, where a three-year-old terrier mix named Queen has been for more than 400 days. 

Queen was found in the shelter near his home by animal rescue officers. She was found living behind a dumpster and had medical issues that prevented her from being adopted straight away. Poore could come visit Queen every day for the past year and it broke his heart that this loving pup hasn't found her forever home. 

He wanted to come up with a creative way to get people to notice Queen and his solution? To move out of his house and into hers, until she finds her forever home. 

Tam Singer, the Great Plains SPCA CEO, was asked to document the experience by Poore. And as wild as the idea sounds, Singer was more than willing to help out and called the idea "fantastic."

Singer told Yahoo Lifestyle, "He has the ability to make individual dogs matter. He's helped so many of our dogs and dogs all over Kansas, More than anything, it highlights not only the plight of Queen but so many other dogs. It's magnificent."

This is the type of woman everyone should look up to! When the monster of a hurricane came crashing down in the Bahamas, Chella Phillips opened her doors to nearly 100 dogs in order to protect them. Phillips runs a rescue service for homeless dogs called 'Voiceless Dogs of Nassau' and has rescued nearly 1000 dogs. She now single-handedly saving 97 more. 

She posted images of all the pups in her humble place, on her Facebook page. In the post, Phillips describes the situation as "insane," adding that "97 dogs are inside my house and 79 of them are inside my master bedroom."

How is it to live with 97 dogs in such a confined area? Phillips wrote, "It has been insane since last night, poop and pee... non stop."

However, despite the insanity of the situation, Phillips said that her house guest have been very respectful of her bed, "nobody has dared to jump in," and miraculously, all the dogs have been wagging their tails and getting along just fine.  

Our guess is that they can sense the severity of the situation outside and are eternity grateful to Phillips for the warm and dry shelter.

People have donated crates to the house, to house the "scared ones and the sick ones." Phillips also mentioned that she's been entertaining her guests with some cartoons, that is until the power went out on Monday. 

In a Facebook update, "All services are down, all TVs are fried from the lightnings so no more cartoons for the sick dogs until we can purchase new ones," Phillips wrote. And despite saving nearly 100 dogs, Phillips couldn't help but feel heartache for other homeless dogs she didn't get to. 

"I pray for the other islands who have unimaginable damages and I don't see how any dogs or any living being could have survived outside. My heart goes out to them."

Hurricane Dorian, a Category 4 storm, sustained winds reached 297kmh, gusts up to 354kmh, and is officially tied the record for the most powerful Atlantic hurricane to ever make landfill. 

We hope this hurricane passes soon with no more damage and thank Chella Phillips for her selflessness and big heart. 

You can send donations here.

Meet the cat man of Aleppo -- Mohammad Aljaleel. He has been looking after the stray cays of Aleppo during the aerial bombardment. 

Since the bombardment, Aljaleel has set up a dedicated sanctuary and veterinary clinic for the homeless felines. 

This man is our hero. 

Story via The Guardian

Oaklands new California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer, Officer Kittle, was on his very first day on the job and it was definitely one to remember! 

According to the CHP Oakland Instagram, Kittle's last call of the day was slightly different than the "cat stuck in a tree" call, but stuck on the 1-880 highway! The poor kitten must've been terrified!

Officer Kittle and his field training officer jumped into action, arrived on scene and stopped traffic as they attempted to triangulate around the kitten. The Instagram post writes, "this feisty kitten wasn't having it and darted under the patrol vehicle." 

Thankfully, Officer Kittle was just a bit quicker and swooped the kitten before it could climb into the engine bay! 

The kitten is now safe and at the Oakland Adoption Center where they hope to find it a loving furever home!

Thank you, Officer Kittle!

This very well just might be the greatest rescue stories of our time! 

This particular black bear wandered from his home in Osceola National Forest to a residential area in Alligator Point, Florida. He was following his nose and was seen shuffling through residents garbage. The wildlife authorities set out to capture the bear and return him home to the forest when things took a turn for the worst. 

Story via One Green Planet

Because he's the hero (the world) deserves. 

Meet 27-year-old Chris Van Dorn, the newly-famed masked crusader! Chris launched a nonprofit organization, Batman4Paws, in 2018. He's always loved animals and Batman, so why not combine the love for both and create something special and unique? Since the launch of Batman4Paws, Chris has embarked on numerous journeys all across the country in order to rescue animals from euthanasia and find them their furever home. 

Batman4Paws helps rescue and transport animals in need to furever homes, no-kill facilities, and foster homes throughout the state of Florida and beyond. Transports are done personally by Batman himself using any means necessary.

Read Chris's full story on his GoFundMe page! 

Not all heroes wear capes.. but this one does. 

Meet the man who saved over 20,000 animals with custom-made prosthetics! Derrick Campana, an animal orthotist from Sterling, Virginia, creates artificial limbs and braces to help animals in need and improve the quality and comfort of your lives. 

When the neighborhood banded together to help their neighbor's cat down from the pole, no one was able to rescue the poor animal. Not until they came across Maurice German who didn't hesitate to join the effort. 

Story found via CBS Philly

When Jason Gasparik from North Carolina found a lost dog wandering around his area few days ago, he did everything he could to reunite the canine with his owner — and we mean everything. Along with checking the pet for a microchip and posting about the lost dog across all of his social media accounts and several lost pet Facebook pages, Gasparik went a step further and stood on a street corner near where the dog was found with the pooch and sign. Via: WCNC

This little pup had a ruff start in life but is happy in his furever home! You can follow Jake on Instagram and Facebook!