Humans and animals have a unique relationship. Despite the dissimilarities, we are united by our common need for love and connection. Though animals are often considered inferior in terms of intelligence and understanding by many, they have time and again surprised us with how much they could care and learn. 

1. When his disabled owner was struck by a car, service dog Endal pulled the unconscious owner into recovery position, retrieved the phone from under the car, fetched and covered him with a blanket, and ran to the nearby hotel to get help.

2. In 2006, a man suffered from a seizure and fell off his wheelchair unable to call for help when his cat Tommy, whom he trained to speed dial 911 with uncertain results, did press the speed dial button. Police received a silent call and arrived to find him incapacitated and his cat by the phone.

3. When a bomb fell into her owner’s house during the Blitz, a Great Dane named Juliana diffused it by relieving herself on it. She earned a Blue Cross Medal for her actions.

4. In 1986, when a five-year-old boy fell into a gorilla enclosure and lost consciousness, a gorilla named Jambo stood between him and the other gorillas in a protective gesture, even stroking his back. The incident created a positive perception of gorillas among the public.

5. In 2012, a Pit Bull named Lilly saved her unconscious owner from an oncoming freight train. She frantically pulled the woman off the tracks even though the train couldn’t stop in time. Lilly saved the woman but lost her leg.

6. In 2007, a Jack Russell Terrier named George fought and sacrificed himself to save five children from an attack by two Pit Bulls. His injuries were so severe he had to be euthanized, but he was awarded a PDSA Gold Medal posthumously and commemorated with a bronze statue.

7. In 2004, a pod of dolphins began circling a lifeguard, his daughter, and two other girls swimming in the sea. He then noticed that there was a shark under them and the dolphins were driving it away.

8. In 2009, a Beluga whale named Mila saved a free diver when her legs were paralyzed by arctic temperatures by grabbing her leg and pushing her to the surface.

9. During WWI, a homing pigeon named Cher Ami helped save 194 men by continuing her flight even after being shot through her chest, losing an eye, and a leg, to deliver their coordinates to the headquarters.

10. In 1998, when her owner suffered a heart attack, a pot-bellied pig named Lulu saved her life by busting through the backyard, which left her bleeding, and laying down in the middle of nearby road until one of the drivers stopped to call for help