On Tuesday, May 13, a surveillance video caught on film a young boy being attacked by a dog while he riding his bike. The incident could have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for his unlikely rescuer … his pet cat.

Four-year-old Jeremy was riding his bike in front of his home in Bakersfield, California, when, out of nowhere, a dog, said to be an eight-month-old labrador/chow mix, appeared and proceeded to bite his leg. Jeremy fell off his bike and was struggling to get free from the dog’s grasp when his cat Tara came to his rescue.

Tara rushed to Jeremy, pounced on the dog, and then continued to chase it away. Erika Triantafilo, Jeremy’s mother, was outside at the time of the incident, watering a nearby tree. She heard the screams, but did not realize what was happening right away. “I didn’t really even realize what had happened until after when my husband showed me the surveillance video,” Erika said.

Jeremy, who has a mild form of autism, was taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries. He had to have a few stitches, but is currently doing fine. “I’ve never seen a cat do that,” Roger Triantafilo, Jeremy’s father said. “Especially ours. It just shows how much she really has a family-oriented mind set.”

The Bakersfield Animal Care Center took the neighbor’s dog, and is currently holding it for observation. A spokesman for the Bakersfield Police said that the dog will be quarantined for 10 days and then will be euthanized.

Image via NDN