I'm not a cat person, but as a species they are impressive.

Tara, the hero cat, is so awesome they had to scratch the word 'dog' off her trophy. (Photo by SPCA of Los Angeles)

Credit: George Mathis

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Credit: George Mathis

One cat is so awesome it won an award meant to honor heroic dogs.

Ironically, Tara, a 7-year-old tabby from Bakersfield, Calif., won the 33rd Annual National Hero Dog Award for rescuing 4-year-old Jeremy Triantafilo from a dog.

You may have seen the YouTube video of Tara springing into action -- it has more than 24 million page views.

In the video, a medium-sized brown dog approaches the boy, who is trying to ride a small bicycle, and ferociously bites the boy's leg and begins dragging him through the yard. In a blur of motion, the cat fearlessly launches its body at the predatory dog and chases it off the property. The frightened boy manages to escape, but received eight stitches from the dog bite.

It is the first time the award, issued by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles, has been awarded to a non-dog in its 33-year history.

For her efforts, Tara was awarded a year's supply of cat food from the SPCA and lots of extra attention from the adoring Triantafilo family.

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