9 Inspiring Cats and Dogs

From dogs that save humans to two-legged cats, 

these animals are inspirational angels.

#1: Survival - Miracle Dog Survives Gas Chamber

He's the miracle Beagle who an Alabama shelter attempted to euthanized, yet he somehow survived! They named him Daniel after the Biblical character who survived a lion's den. Read more about his amazing story.

#2: Kindness - Dog Saves Abandoned Baby 

This mother dog from Argentina found an abandoned newborn and cared for the infant boy as one of her puppies until authorities discovered them.

#3: Survival - Five-Day-Old Kitty Found in Trash

Derek heard meow-like cries for help in a nearby trash can. It was empty except for a small, knotted black trash bag. Derek reached in and tore the bag open. Lo and behold, a kitten barely alive! 

The shelters & rescue centers were closed for the night so Derek had to nurture the kitten until morning. This video is footage taken of Derek & the kitten, "Gina Fortunado" during the wee hours the next day. 

Gina was handed over to professionals who will raiser her until she can be lovingly adopted -- hopefully by Derek.

#4: Resilience - Stray Dogs Ride Subway to Find Food

There’s something incredible happening on the streets of Moscow. In the suburbs on the outskirts of town, stray dogs have banded together as virtual families. Since food in the unpopulated areas has been hard to come by, the dogs have figured out a solution. 

Every morning at around the same time, they hop on a subway and head into the city. No trainers, no caretakers, not even passers by helping them.They have figured out exactly where to get off to find the best leftovers and, like clockwork, they head back home every night. They choose the quietest cars, the ones on the very ends of the train and while in the city, the dogs have learned to navigate the streets using traffic lights.

#5: Friendship - Dog Thrown Away in Dumpster Saves Child's Life

When the Pieters family rescued this dog from a dumpster, they had no idea they had a hero in disguise.

#6: Courage - Dog Risks His Life to Save Another

Footage from a traffic camera overlooking a busy freeway in Santiago, Chile captured a dog performing a heroic act — pulling an injured friend from oncoming traffic. The video shows an injured dog lying in the middle of a freeway after being hit by a car, while a rescue dog dodges traffic to run to its side. The rescue dog then drags the severely injured canine across lanes of traffic as cars swerve around it. No motorists stopped to help either dog, but a highway crew arrives at the end of the video. 

The translation of the announcer is as follows: "These images seen from the surveillance cameras show a very common situation with our overpopulated highways. It is normal for us to see dogs run over. In the video, we can see this dog fighting for his life because he was run over by the vehicle. What is very touching is to see the very heroic actions of this other dog who is trying to pull him to the side of the highway. We are going to keep seeing things like this until we find a solution to the dogs living on the streets."

#7: Self-Esteem - Amazing Grace, the Two-Legged Kitten

She was born without front legs. But in her own mind, she is perfect.

#8: Courage - Military Dog Saves Four Soldiers in Afghanistan

Petty Officer 1st Class Valdo is a Navy military working dog and he's trained to smell explosives. Though Valdo is a veteran at bomb and improvised explosive device detection, the 7-year-old patrol dog's abilities were tested on an April 3 combat foot patrol north of the Bala Murghab security bubble in Badghis Province, Afghanistan.

Red Platoon, Bulldog Troop, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment scouts from Fort Carson, Colo., ventured further than coalition forces ever had before on the mission, and plotted fighting positions anticipating possible enemy location. Valdo's role was to smell out mines, IEDs or booby traps. He served honorably. "Not all dogs are cut out to be patrol dogs. He was hand selected in Germany," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Lee, Valdo's handler, who hails from Lynnhurst, N.J.

Red Platoon came under a sustained attack the following morning, and Valdo was injured by a rocket propelled grenade, which breached Red Platoon's fighting position and landed directly behind him. Valdo was seriously injured in the blast. He absorbed most of the grenade's shrapnel, which possibly saved the lives of four other nearby servicemembers. "If Valdo wasn't here, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead right now," said Pfc. Ben Bradley, Red Platoon scout, who hails from Sarasota, Fla. Bradley was dug into a firing position merely three feet from Valdo, and suffered minor injuries to his leg.

A fellow Sailor carried Valdo two kilometers south of the spot he was wounded to Combat Outpost Metro, where Valdo was treated by Spc. Kellen West, Red Platoon medic. He was then air medical evacuated to Forward Operating Base Todd. Once there, a doctor stabilized Valdo then sent him on another medevac to Camp Arena, Herat, where Valdo remained in stable condition April 5.

In light of the heroic wounds Valdo suffered, his service will likely end in the near future, which may end up being a blessing in disguise for Lee, who'd hoped to adopt Valdo but was having trouble aligning his rotation date from Rota, Spain, to Valdo's retirement date. "You get pretty close to the dogs," said Lee. "[Valdo and I] are always together. We live in the same tent, eat at the same times, and don't really have much, so make do with what we've got."

#9: Loyalty - Dog Lays Down Near the Casket of Fallen SEAL

Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson lay in a coffin, draped in an American flag, in front of a tearful audience mourning his death in Afghanistan. Soon an old friend appeared, and like a fellow soldier on a battlefield, his loyal dog refused to leave him behind.

Tumilson’s Labrador retriever, Hawkeye, was photographed lying by Tumilson’s casket in a heart-wrenching image taken at the funeral service in Tumilson’s hometown of Rockford, Iowa. Hawkeye walked up to the casket at the beginning of the service and then dropped down with a heaving sigh as about 1,500 mourners witnessed a dog accompanying his master until the end.

Learn more about this touching story on MSNBC.