Six Pound Terrier Takes On Bear And More Traumatic And True Stories Of Dogs Saving Their Best Friends.

#1 Max Drags Owner Across The House.

Late one night in February 2014, Jack Farell, 80, called 911 to report a dog attack. He had woken up bleeding on his kitchen floor, his left arm in the jaws of his adopted German shepherd, Max. "I thought he had turned on me," said Jack, a retired firefighter.

But as emergency personnel figured out later, Max had actually saved Jack from carbon monoxide poisoning.

When Jack had gotten out of bed during the night, he'd passed out from inhaling the gas and collapsed to the floor. Max likely tried to wake the man by clawing his face, to no avail. So the dog took Jack's left arm in his mouth and pulled the comatose man from the bedroom and down the hall, presumably intending to drag Jack out of the house.

When Jack learned the truth, his heart flooded with gratitude. "He saved my life," Jack said.

#2 Little Joe Is Fearless.

Deborah Epstein's Yorkie, Joe, proved that guard dogs sometimes come in small packages. On a warm July day in 2013, Joe and his owner were lounging on Deborah's front porch when the phone rang. Deborah stepped inside to answer it, leaving the front door open. Seconds later, Joe began barking excitedly. That's not unusual for a terrier, especially this little shelter dog, but he "sounded a little more furious than usual," Deborah said.

She turned around to see a 100-pound black bear making its way toward Joe's food bowl in the living room. Big mistake. "You don't touch [Joe's food]," said Deborah. She watched in awe as the six-pound dog growled, barked, lunged, and nipped at the bear until it retreated. "Joe chased it right back out the door," Deborah said. The bear escaped into the woods behind Deborah's house.

The prospect of losing his food may have propelled Joe into action, but he managed to defend his territory and protect his owner at the same time.

"I saved him from the pound, and he saved me from a bear," Deborah said. "We're even."

#3 Shana the wolf-mix, saved her owners from certain death.

In 1999, Eve and Norman Fertig, founders of the Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary, saved a two-week-old half-wolf, halfGerman shepherd from a puppy mill. The pup they named Shana grew to an intimidating 160 pounds, but Eve said the dog trailed her like "a little lamb."

One October several years back, as the Fertigs, both then 81, fed injured rescue animals housed in one of the buildings on their land, an unseasonable, violent snowstorm blew in. When the couple went outside to check the weather, several trees fell, trapping them in a narrow alley between two buildings. Eve and Norman weren't wearing coats or gloves and couldn't climb over or duck below the tree trunks. For the next two and a half hours, they huddled together for warmth as the snow piled higher.

"We were in big trouble," Eve said. "I told Norman, ‘We can't stay here. We'll die.'"

Around 9:30 p.m., Shana, who was outside, began burrowing toward Eve and Norman in the deep snow. It took the dog nearly two hours, but eventually she cleared a narrow tunnel about 20 feet long stretching from the front porch of the main house to the Fertigs' location.

When Shana finally broke through the snow and reached the curled-up couple, she gave one short bark. Her message was clear: Follow me.

Norman looked at the tunnel, which was a foot high, and refused, telling Eve he'd spent too much time in foxholes in Okinawa during World War II. But in her no-nonsense Bronx accent, Eve changed her husband's mind: "Norman, if you do not follow me, I will get a divorce."

Shana grabbed Eve's jacket and guided the 86-pound woman onto her back. Norman clutched Eve's ankles, and for the next two hours, Shana pulled the couple through the tunnel.

Shana finally reached the house around 2 a.m., and the Fertigs managed to get just inside the front door. They collapsed with fatigue. The storm had knocked out the electricity and heat, but Shana lay next to them all night. "She kept us alive," Eve said.

Firefighters arrived later that morning and were astonished at the sight. Eve said, "They kept looking at that tunnel and saying, ‘We've never seen anything like it.'"

After the ordeal, it took five months for Shana's feet to heal from the injuries she received while digging.

#4 Katrina, irony at it's best.

Hurricane Katrina was a miserable occurance for everyone down south, but inspiring stories of heroism have helped give victims something to smile about. That's certainly the case with Katrina, the ironically named black labrador who saved a drowning man before rising flood waters claimed his life. The dog, who was later rescued herself by rescue teams, was honored at that year's Genesis Awards with a standing ovation.

#5 Maya fights violent intruder off of owner.

You don't get to be the 2008 Dog of the Year for nothing, and this pooch is no exception. Maya took home this year's honors for courageously saving Angela Marcelino, her owner, from a vicious male attacker. The pitbull's act of bravery earned some high praise from the Animal Miracle foundation, who was happy to report that "the pitbull breed can be hero dogs just like any other breed."

#6 Honey brings help to car crash.

Honey was the 2006 Dog of the Year, an award she earned by saving her owner from a violent car accident. When she and Michael Bosch found their SUV rolled over and stuck upside down in a deep ravine, Bosch was trapped and knew that Honey was his only hope. With all his strength, he managed to release the dog and hope that she would somehow find help. Sure enough, the then 5 month old English Cocker Spaniel got the attention of a man about a half-mile away and brought him to the scene of the accident. Rescuers concluded that had it not been for this, Bosch would have died.

#7 Eve drags owner away from explosion.

Everyone loves those heart-pounding movie scenes where the hero escapes a burning pit seconds before it explodes, but it's not so fun in real life. That's what Kathie, a paralyzed parapalegic, learned when her Rotweiller (Eve) pulled her by the ankles from her burning, smoldering truck. Upon pulling Kathie out, Eve proceeded to drag her to a nearby ditch, just far enough away to avoid the explosion of her vehicle.

After firemen cleared the scene, Eve was awarded the Stillman Award for her bravery.

#8 Kankuntu fights off pirates.

It's not every day that a dog saves its family from armed pirates at sea, but amazingly, that's exactly what Kankuntu did. When Peter Lee found himself about to be hijacked on his 41 foot yacht by armed pursuers, the dog (who "thinks he's a lion") leapt right into action, furiously attacking the gunmen until one of them shot and stabbed the pooch between his shoulder blades. Amazingly, the dog was nursed back to the health and the family continued with their voyage.

#9 Zoey won't let anything happen to her boy.

Everyone knows that smaller dogs have to display in attitude what they lack in size, and Zoey is living proof. A five pound chihuahua from Colorado, Zoey made headlines in 2007 for rescuing a one year old child from an approaching three foot rattlesnake when the snake got too close for comfort. While Zoey sustained a small wound from a snakebite above her eye, she eventually recovered and the snake was killed by the dog's owner.

#10 After his owner falls and can't get back up, Blue fights off alligators.

Most people wouldn't dare to go one-on-one with an alligator, but that's exactly that Blue did to take home 2001 "Dog Hero of the Year" honors. The Australian Blue Heeler saved Ruth Gay, his 85 year old owner, from an alligator attack behind her home. Reportedly, Ms. Gay had fallen while walking Blue. When a nearby gator lumbered over, threatening to attack, Blue charged into action and sparred with the gator long enough to scare it away. Both Gay and Blue made full recoveries, and blue was awarded with doggie treats, cash, and a specially engraved Dog Hero food bowl.