As a dog owner and lover, I am very moved by stories like this one:

An 81-year old couple adopted a tiny abused puppy ten years ago. The puppy grew up to be a 160-pound dog (shepherd/wolf cross) that saved their lives last week when the couple was trapped in a snow storm; the dog dug a tunnel in the snow under fallen trees and pulled the man and woman back to their house through the tunnel. Amazing.