UPDATE: The dog involved in the incident, an 8-month-old mixed breed named Scrappy, has been euthanized, according to media reports. (TMZ)
A family's cat dramatically went to the rescue of a young child riding a bike in the family's driveway in Bakersfield, California, when the boy was attacked by a neighbor's dog on Tuesday.
Amazingly, both the initial dog attack and the cat's rescue attack were captured by the family's surveillance video cameras.
The cat, named Tara, seemingly emerged from nowhere to jump on the dog and protect the young boy, whose mom, Erica Triantafilo, was nearby.
Triantafilo said the dog continued to hang around after the cat chased him, and the dog then bit her when she tried to chase it away. (KGET)
Triantafilo said her son, who is mildly autistic, received 10 stitches, and her neighbors voluntarily turned their dog over to animal services to be quarantined. (TurnTo23.com)
The video of the incident quickly went viral and Tara the cat became an overnight celebrity. According to TMZ, hero cat Tara has received an offer from Cat Fanciers magazine to appear on an upcoming cover. The Cat Fanciers' Association reportedly plans to honor the fearless feline with its first ever "Cat Hero Award." Tara also threw out the first pitch at a minor league baseball team, with the help of her family.
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