When Sarah Mills smelled smoke as her house caught on fire she was able to escape along with her two-year-old female pit bull named Shai. Unfortunately Shai’s litter of four-week-old puppies was still in the burning home. Shai motherly instincts kicked in and she ran back into the burning home to try to save them.

Layka has become the first canine to receive an honor from the 341st Training Squadron, the organization that trains dogs for the military. The 3-year-old Belgian Malinois is being recognized for her heroism in Afghanistan.

When Hugh Auton’s South Carolina home caught on fire he didn’t hear the smoke alarm go off in his sleep. Luckily he had a back-up alert system, his 3-year-old Chihuahua Blue. Thanks to Blue both Hugh and his cousin Mike made it out of the house just moments before a huge explosion.

Luna, an Australian cattle dog, escaped out of her family’s yard on Mother’s Day this year. It took four months and the help of craigslist before she was reunited with her family again.

Cynthia Castronova came home to find her family home in California had been burglarized on Monday morning. The 15-year-old found the house ransacked. Laptops, electronics, jewelry and other small valuables were missing. Cynthia and her family are most concerned about one valuable that is gone, their pug Holly.

Police in Ireland have seized 36 dogs found in the back of two cars in Dublin on Tuesday. They are believed to have been bred illegally on an Irish puppy farm and were headed to the UK. Two men were arrested under suspicion of committing animal cruelty.

Police in Des Moines are making changes after one of their K9s Harley died in August from being left in a hot vehicle. The officer responsible for leaving Harley in the vehicle and ultimately his death will no longer be able to work with dogs and has been suspended.

Gage, a five-year-old search and rescue dog, has served in Iraq and spent his life helping people. Now Gage needs help. Gage has cancer and needs help affording his treatment.

Gudrun Mastriano was walking with her dog Dante in a park in Kissimmee, Florida when she saw a snake. Mastriano didn’t realize that the snake was a cottonmouth snake, a venomous snake that can have a potentially lethal bite. Luckily for Mastriano, her dog Dante sensed the danger and stepped into action before the snake could harm her.