Just a few months ago, a video went viral on YouTube, receiving over 5 million hits. It was passed around frequently on Facebook and, chances are, many of you have seen it. It’s the clip of one brave cat, saving the boy it loved from a vicious dog attack.
Jeremy Triantafilo lives in California with his mom (Erica) and dad (Roger). It was a beautiful sunny day and four-year-old Jeremy was outside riding his bike on the sidewalk in front of his house. When he directed his bike back up the driveway, the next door neighbor’s dog came walking around a parked car. Without provocation of any kind, the dog simply tore into Jeremy’s leg, dragging him off the bike. As the dog begins aggressively shaking his head and pulling Jeremy down the driveway, the Triantafilo’s pet cat, Tara, comes seemingly out of now where and attacks the dog.
In the video, the dog seems truly taken by surprise and immediately releases Jeremy. But, Tara does not stop there. As the dog looks stunned and not quite sure what is happening, Tara takes off after the dog, not stopping until she chases it well past the parked car that is separating the dog from Jeremy. Only once she sees that the dog is truly gone does Tara dive back under the car to go check on Jeremy who is on the other side. By that time, Erica has come check on Jeremy. The entire incident took less than one minute and was, incredibly, captured in its entirety by surveillance cameras placed near the scene.
“It’s honestly just a blur,” Erica Triantafilo said. “I just remember hearing him and the next thing I know, I see my cat flying out of nowhere, on to this dog, and just remember trying to get my son and get the dog away and back in to its yard.”
It is like a parent’s worst nightmare; Seeing your child viciously attacked by an animal. And, altogether incredible that the family cat would be the one to save him. Tara was a stray cat the family adopted over six years ago. So, she had been in the Triantafilo’s lives before Jeremy was even born. She has looked over him since the day he was brought home from the hospital, quieting monitoring his every cry. Erica describes Tara as a “quiet” cat.
“Every once in a while she puts our dog back in to her place, but for the most part, she’s just the most mellow cat you’ve ever met,” Erica Triantafilo said. “All our boys love her and pick on her occasionally. She just loves them right back anyway.”
Though Jeremy received ten stitches for two lacerations to his calf from the dog’s attack, he was able to make a full recovery. He’s a happy, healthy kid running and playing around outside again.
And, Tara?
She’s still watching over him. Protecting him from any harm that might come his way.
Who needs a guardian angel when you have a guardian cat?