The bond between humans and their pets can be one of the strongest, and to many of us, our four-legged friends are our family. Sometimes when we need them the most, our pups show their loyalty and love in big ways…take a look at these 5 times heroic dogs save their owners from extremely scary life-or-death situations.

1. Hook, a service dog for a woman who is hearing impaired in Sacramento, who saved his owner from being hit by a train speeding right towards her. He pulled her right off the tracks, with only moments to spare. Watch the video at the source, what a sweetheart!

2. Belle, a service dog for a man in Florida living with Diabetes, is able to sniff out abnormalities in blood. So when her owner had a seizure and collapsed, she detected that her best friend’s blood sugar was dangerously low! Belle had been trained to bite down on the number 9 on her owner’s cell phone, using the speed-dial to call 911. This ultimately saved his life. “There is no doubt in my mind that I’d be dead if I didn’t have Belle.”

3. A stray dog in Nairobi, Kenya found a small infant abandoned in a forest, and carried it across a busy road and through some barbed wire to her litter of puppies, according to witnesses. The owner of the shed she was keeping her litter in found the baby and brought it to the hospital, where it received the necessary medical care. Nurses named the 7lb infant ‘Angel.’ Were it not for this nurturing pup, who knows how long such a small child could have survived in the woods.

4. Toby, the golden retriever from Arkansas, who saw his owner choking on food and began to jump on her chest, performing a modified heimlech maneuver to dislodge the piece of apple from her throat. After her own attempts to cough up the food failed, Toby got involved and this two year old pup ended up saving her life. “I literally have paw print-shaped bruises on my chest. I’m still a little hoarse, but otherwise, I’m OK,” his owner praises him “The doctor said I probably wouldn’t be here without Toby.”

5. Last but absolutely not least is Angel, the fiercest dog on our list, is a golden retriever in BC who fought a cougar in the family’s backyard to save her 11 year old owner from a deadly attack. At only 18 months, this brave girl nearly sacrificed her life to protect her family. Ultimately, she was able to fend off the cougar until authorities could put it down. Best of all, she lived to tell the tale! Only suffering a couple bites and scratches, she made a full recovery…the story at the source is definitely worth a read. There is truly no love like the love of our pets!