12 Heartwarming Pet Stories From 2018 That Prove We Definitely Don't Deserve Them

Although Bonnie Michalek wasn't exactly sure how her bullmastiff would react to her and her husband bringing their first child home from the hospital, she definitely didn't predict they'd become instant BFFs.

"Brutus completely bypassed my husband to meet Kayden," Bonnie told The Dodo. "He immediately wanted to give him kisses and snuggle up to him."

When a woman named Brooke had a home birth, she wasn't prepared to get support from her four-legged friend, Ranger. But lo and behold, the corgi stayed by his mom's side through the entire process.

"From the moment I walked in the door, Ranger was so excited," photographer Kristin Waner said. "You could tell he knew something was happening. He quickly came in to greet me, then headed right back to the bedroom to be with Brooke as she labored. He was very curious as to what was going on."

After Regan's former owner passed away suddenly, the pup had no one left to turn to. But thankfully, Kim Mozena Rezac — the founder of Goofy Foot Dog Rescue in Tennessee — offered to look after her for a while. On the way to Kim's house, something amazing happened: Regan held her hand.

"You guys . . . So this girl's person died and she found herself homeless," Kim wrote on Facebook. "She was in our shelter for a couple days and I felt sorry for her so I brought her home. How sweet is she?"

In the face of adversity, sometimes the most unlikely of creatures stick together. That was certainly the case when firefighters found a chicken and a cat comforting each other in the wake of the Carr Fire earlier this year.

Hurricane Florence rocked states in the southern US this year, but Robert Simmons Jr., a man from New Bern, NC, wouldn't let the storm come between him and his pet. A journalist covering the outcome captured this emotional photo of Robert boating to safety with his kitten — who he named Survivor — and we're holding back tears just looking at it.

During a drill, a police dog named Poncho got to work giving an officer CPR. Although we're not sure if his moves could actually save lives, obviously, the internet collectively lost its sh*t.

Terry Lauerman, a 75-year-old man from Wisconsin, has a lot of time on his hands. But rather than just parking it in front of the TV, he spends him time volunteering with needy cats at a local shelter. Another worker caught him dozing off— a regular occurrence, apparently — and we can't stop smiling.

"[He sleeps for] about an hour, then he'll wake up and switch cats," explained Elizabeth Feldhausen, the founder of Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary. "He said, [the brushing is] as great of an experience for him, as it is for them."

We believe in giving credit when it's due, and this service dog getting his school photo taken only furthers our cause. How sweet!

After Kameroun Mares asked her roommate to watch her dog while she underwent chemotherapy, she returned only to discover her dog was stolen. The panicked pet mom hired a private investigator, and a year later, the duo was reunited.

Riley, a crafty golden retriever from California, knows how to sneak in a little more playtime when his owners are busy: by dropping his tennis ball over the fence. Fortunately, Johnny Berchtold caught his antics on tape while walking around the neighborhood, and we're forever grateful.

"Dropping the ball works almost 100 percent of the time," Riley's owner, Wendy Walden, told The Dodo. "Sometimes he misses his mark (not all people love dogs), but then we would always find the ball sitting on the wall because someone picked it up."

Any tried-and-true cat lady can totally appreciate this couple's "kitten hour." Yup, the pair brought rescue kitties to their wedding for their guests to play with. And I'm beyond jealous.

After her cat escaped from his carrier after an explosion amid the devastating wildfires in California, Laci Ping and her husband Curtis Mullins thought their tabby Mayson was lost for good. In a happy turn of events, the pair were reunited with their beloved pet, and it was all caught on tape.