Hero Dog Sacrificed His Life Defending Owner's Family from a Gunman

A brave dog sacrificed himself so that his human family would survive when a gunman attacked in southeast Harris County in Texas.

Zero was a Great Pyrenees dog who lived with the Martinez family in their Davenwood home near Scarsdale in Houston, Texas.

On March 10, Laura Martinez held a birthday party for her teenage daughter. At some point, during the celebration, a neighbor arrived and began shooting.

Martinez claimed that the neighborhood broke into her home the previous night. When she went to his home the next day to see his parents, no one was available. She left a note.

The next day was Sunday. Around 9:30 p.m., a shooter arrived and penetrated Martinez' son Taylor Hollier's foot. That's when Zero sprung into action.

The courageous dog jumped up and drove his teeth into the shooter. The attacker fired a shot at the dog. Zero pushed through, bringing the man to the ground.

The poor dog took two more shots after that. Martinez said he later had to be put down as the doctors said he had no chance. The Houston woman is now walking on crutches from a shot to the leg.

Her daughter Valerie Pace also received two bullets: one that landed inches away from her spine and another towards the back of her thigh.

Martinez said of the creature that allowed her to live:

“I’m going to miss him a lot. He jumped up to protect us and never showed any fear, even when he was struck."

Martinez opened a GoFundMe page to help cover the medical bills of the family. According to her page, the shooter was arrested on Tuesday. No other sources confirmed the report.

Another heroic feline friend saved a family from the flames of a fire that would go on to envelop their home in Kansas. Back in December 2018, Sarah Potter was awakened early morning on Sunday.

She said she heard her dog barking and thought it might be her boyfriend at the door. Instead, it was the family's one-year-old dog Buster who had realized something was wrong.

A fire erupted from the kitchen of the house and probably would have threatened the lives of the family. Thanks to Buster, Potter says they were able to evacuate the home and have firefighters take care of the flames.

A story also emerged out of Florida in June 2018 about a German shepherd that sacrificed himself for his human owner who was at risk of getting bitten by a rattlesnake.

Little Molly was in her backyard when the snake emerged out of nowhere. Yet two-year-old Haus jumped in front of his owner, taking three venomous bites in doing so.

Haus later had to be treated for the deadly bites, but Molly, seven, survived the attack. Such noble feats just make us love animals so much more.