While I’m hesitant to hand the “man’s best friend” title over to our feline companions, I will say that in this particular circumstance, man was lucky to have a cat around the house.

With nearly six million views on YouTube, a video entitled “My Cat Saved My Son” has struck viral gold. In the video, which appears to comes from CCTV footage, a dog casually approaches a young boy on a bicycle and proceeds to attack with a ferocious bite to the leg.

As the dog begins to drag the poor boy by the leg, a valiant cat comes running into frame and basically spear tackles the dog. It’s a pretty incredible video, I’m not going to lie. Check it out:

Roger Triantafilo, who posted the original video on YouTube, explains why the mother ran away from the boy after the attack (a frequently asked question from the comments).

“After checking his wounds she made sure the dog did not return for a second attempt. The owners were there also and she was bit by the dog as she tried to pin him in his yard. The owners did get control of the dog and secured him in which she immediately returned to attending to our son. I did not include that video because it was not so much about the dog but about the cats actions,” he says.

The cat’s actions, while heroic, are the subject of some skepticism.

“We all know the cat was just being a jerk and attacking the dog; that it happened to stop the attack was coincidental,” says one commenter.

Coincidence or not, there’s absolutely no denying that the cat saved the little boy from additional injury. I guess “hero” really is an appropriate title to bestow (via reddit).

Although he did sustain this pretty nasty bite wound, the boy will be fine.

The dog, however, will meet a different fate. According to Bakersfield police, the Labrador-Chow mix has been surrendered by its owners and will be euthanized at a later date.

Images via YouTube