A dramatic video from Lopburi, Thailand, captures the heart-stopping moment a dog rushes to save a struggling puppy from drowning in a fish pond. Shared by NowThis on Instagram, the surveillance footage shows a white puppy named Soh in distress before a larger dog, Hand, comes running to the rescue.
Soh appears to be panicked, barely keeping its head above water, when Hand suddenly charges in, grabs the pup, and pulls it to safety. Hand clearly recognized the danger, responding with urgency to save the smaller dog.
We often say we don’t deserve dogs, and after watching this, you might wonder if dogs feel the same about us. Hand could have ignored Soh’s cries, but instead, the instinct to help took over—showing just how empathetic and selfless dogs can be.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1559884749870694402
Interestingly, the video features two different angles, leading some to question whether it was entirely captured by security cameras. In recent months, staged “drowning” videos have surfaced online, where people pretend to struggle in water to showcase their dogs' rescue instincts. While this video doesn’t appear to be staged, it undeniably highlights Hand’s natural altruism.
Research supports the idea that dogs can act selflessly toward one another. A study from the Messerli Research Institute at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna found that dogs share food with fellow canines, especially those they are familiar with.
“Dogs truly behave prosocially toward other dogs,” the study, published in Science Daily, stated. “That had never been experimentally demonstrated before. What we also found was that the degree of familiarity among the dogs further influenced this behavior. Prosocial behavior was exhibited less frequently toward unfamiliar dogs than toward familiar ones.”
However, another study suggests dogs aren’t quite as generous when it comes to sharing food with humans—regardless of how well they know them. So, if you’re hoping your pup will offer you a bite of their treat, don’t count on it.
Still, acts of canine heroism like this one prove that dogs have an incredible capacity for compassion—especially for their own kind.