(ANIMAL STORIES) We all know that animals are amazing. These ten stories of bravery from the animal kingdom are bound to inspire! From a sled dog’s 200-mile journey that saved several people, to cats, dolphins, and pigeons helping others in need, these top 10 courageous animals throughout history have proven their fearlessness. We love number 10. The story of this miniature horse named Magic, while not as loudly heroic as the others, is a tear-jerker for sure! – Global Animal

Time Magazine:

1. Togo the Sled Dog


2. Bucephalus the Horse

Bucephalus was the famed steed of Alexander the Great. As legend has it, Alexander broke the wild horse when no one else dared go near — not by force but by turning the horse’s head toward the sun, understanding that Bucephalus was simply afraid of his own shadow. No one but Alexander could mount the horse after. As one history puts it, “Long did this noble animal share the toils and dangers of his master; and this was the horse that Alexander delighted to honor.” So excellent was Buchephalus in battle that when he was once lost, Alexander is said to have threatened the destruction of an entire country unless he was returned (which he was).

3. Stubby the Dog


He was allowed to join the soldiers on the front lines, where he was once injured during a gas strike. Having developed a sensitivity to the smell of gas, he was able to save the soldiers as they slept through another gas attack. He even thwarted a German soldier’s attempts to map out the layout of Allied trenches by biting him on the leg and subduing him until U.S. soldiers arrived. By the end of the war, Stubby had served in 17 battles and had developed a knack for locating his wounded comrades. The dog became a lifetime member of the American Legion and later became Georgetown University’s mascot when Conroy went to study law there. In 1921 the pooch was awarded a gold hero dog’s medal that was commissioned by the Humane Education Society. He lived until 1926.

4. Cher Ami the Pigeon


5. Scarlett the Cat


6. Trakr the Dog


7. Simon the Cat


8. Moko the Dolphin

In the summer of 2008, Moko the bottlenose dolphin was a constant fixture at a beach along the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, coming by every few days to play with swimmers. But one day her visit was more business than pleasure when she showed up just in time to save two beached pygmy sperm whales. Successfully doing what humans could not, Moko seemed to communicate with the two whales and lead them safely back into deeper water. Had the dolphin not shown up, rescuers said, the mother whale and calf likely would have been killed as they had resisted human attempts to herd them to sea. “I don’t speak whale and I don’t speak dolphin,” Conservation Officer Malcolm Smith told the BBC in 2008, “but there was obviously something that went on because the two whales changed their attitude from being quite distressed to following the dolphin quite willingly and directly along the beach and straight out to sea.”


9. Japanese Rescue Dog


[Global Animal Editor’s Note: The statement in this Time magazine piece that the dogs were brought to a clinic and shelter is unconfirmed. The whereabouts and well-being of the two dogs since the video has not been verified. ]

10. Magic the Miniature Mare







  1. […] A blue-eyed mare, regularly visited patients who needed comfort. One particular event took her into the highlight as AARP’s Most Heroic pet in 2010. Magic, the horse in the picture above, visited Kathleen Loper, patient who hadn’t spoken since arriving at the facility three years earlier. Upon seeing Magic, Loper said, “Isn’t she beautiful.” Those first words caused the staff break out in tears.The Florida program that brought the two together, Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses, continues to work its magic in the sunshine state.(Source | Image) […]