Dramatic video shows a dog coming out of nowhere to rescue a puppy from drowning

We often say we “don’t deserve dogs,” and after watching this video it’s pretty clear that sometimes, dogs may feel the same way. The video shows that dogs can have an innate empathy for one another. Hand could have dismissed Soh’s cries and thought, “More food for me,” but instead, the larger dog stepped up and saved the pup.

It's unclear if all the footage was shot by a security camera because there are two different angles. Recently, there's been a trend in staged "drowning" videos where people pretend to be in danger to show off their dog's rescue instincts. This doesn't appear to be one of those videos, but there's no doubt it shows off Hand's innate altruism.

A study from Messerli Research Institute at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna found that dogs can behave altruistically toward one another by sharing food, but are more likely to do so if they are familiar with them.

“Dogs truly behave prosocially toward other dogs,” the study, published in Science Daily, said. “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, a recent study found that dogs show very little altruism toward humans in regard to food-sharing, whether they know them or not. So, if you’re waiting for your dog to give you a treat, don’t hold your breath.

Don't worry, though. Your dog still loves you, and they seem to love each other if Hand and Soh have anything to say about it.

This article originally appeared three years ago.