In 2018, there were 470 million domestic dogs and 370 million cats in the world. Our enormous love for these animals is understandable — not only are they charming and funny, they’re also some of the most sympathetic creatures on Earth, capable of good, and sometimes even heroic deeds.

At Bright Side, we believe pets can melt even the coldest person’s heart. Which is exactly what these 18 dogs and cats did.

1. This dog let a cat into his kennel. The owners later found out why — the cat was pregnant and gave birth inside.

9. “My girlfriend was in the hospital last night and her service dog decided the floor was just too far away.”

© comck77 / reddit

10. “This cat likes to wait for flowers to fall in the garden, and then she will spend her day examining them, and each day she will select a few and bring them into the house as gifts.”

© alliesatwar / twitter

11. “It looks like Ziggy loves the smell of his owner. It’s so sweet!”

© Miriona2712 / reddit

12. “This morning I felt poorly when I woke up, and after feeding her she left her unfinished wet food and kept harassing me till I checked my vitals. 96.1 °F and that’s how my cat saved me from secondary hypothermia today.”

© chiskgela / reddit

13. “The fact that my puppy put up with these glasses because I asked her to makes me smile. We don’t deserve dogs.”

© kittyandmarley / reddit

14. “Milo waits patiently for his new little brother Rylie to finish eating before he does.”

© kris10amanda / reddit

15. Just two brothers feeding a rat

© yourcandygirl / reddit

16. “I lost my mom last January. I was alone at home, there were days or even weeks I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed. But Pudge was there every day by my side, relentlessly purring.”

© DntWrryBHppy92 / reddit

17. “I had a really horrible migraine one day and a pain in my shoulder. I wanted to go lie down. Greta wouldn’t let me.”

© PennyoftheNerds / reddit

“She continued to bark at me and paw at me. My phone rang. When I went to answer the call, I couldn’t figure out how to press the green button. I had a stroke, and had I fallen asleep, I would have never seen my phone go off or answered it.”

18. “Tikki was very vocal, more so than usual, and kept running into the back bedroom until I followed her. That’s when I found Belle curled up in front of the litter box unable to move.”

© Nonnie02 / reddit

“The vet said I could have lost Belle had it not been for Tikki.”

Do you have stories of when your pet showed you how big their heart is? Share them in the comments below.