There’s no doubt that we all love our own animals – but the following images are even further proof that there’s something really incredible about our furry compadres.
1. The parrot with the moving last words.
Alex the African gray parrot was able to count and identify colors, and he had a beautiful relationship with his person, Irene Pepperberg. When Alex died in 2007, his last words to her were, “You be good. I love you.”
2. The powerful story of Grace the elephant’s vigil over her friend who suffered from a snake bite:
3. The heroic cat, Lara, who saved a boy from a dog attack:
Five years ago, Tara followed young Jeremy Triantafilo home from the park and the family decided to keep her. Last month, Tara returned the favor a thousandfold by heroically saving the 4-year-old from a vicious dog attack.
4. The loyal friend who visits his injured owner in the hospital every day. Says Reddit user sarcasticflower, “My grandma broke her hip. Her cat Vincent visits her every day and always ends up in her arms!”
5. Mitzy the cat:
When Mitzy’s owner had a stroke, she had to spend time in rehab recovering. After three weeks, her friends were finally able to bring Mitzy in to see her: “Once we let her out of the crate, Mitzy wouldn’t get off her lap for anything.”
6. The service dog Hero, who was awarded an honorary master’s degree from the University of Illinois after attending each one of his owner’s classes.
7. Geo, the 7-month-old puppy who pushed a 10-year-old boy out of the way of a truck and took the impact himself:
8. And the adopted puppy who aspired to be a service dog:
When former law enforcement officer Chester Hembree was told that his son Lucas, who suffers from Sanfilippo syndrome, was a poor candidate for a service animal, Chester saved a Belgian Malinois pup from a Tennessee shelter and trained him to be a service dog by himself.
