A pet dog living with its family in the town of Odate in northern Japan is being hailed a hero after she was credited for saving the life of a five-year-old boy. According to Yahoo News, the six-year-old dog, a Shiba-inu breed named “Mego” took on a large 1 meter bear when the boy was attacked by the wild animal. The boy was reportedly walking by a riverside with his great-grandfather when the incident happened.

According to reports, the alert dog barked unusually loud after it spotted the bear before attacking it. The boy, however, did get minor scratches on his body. The boy’s clothes were torn and his back and bottom were covered in scratches where the bear had apparently clawed at him.

Odate is located around 340 miles north of the capital, Tokyo. According to a local police spokesman, the boy was taken to hospital, but he was released on the same day. The local Japanese media also reported that when the bear attacked, the child’s 80-year-old great grandfather raised an alarm.

According to locals, Mego was always known to be a calm and timid dog. For the same reason, it came as a surprise to many when they found that Mego managed to scare a large bear away and save the life of the little boy.

“Mego is usually calm and timid. It was a great surprise that she chased away a bear. Mego has always been his friend and we have rewarded her with meat and other treats,” the dog’s owner told the Sports Hochi daily.

The bear species that attacked the boy is believed to be an Asian black bear, which is common in the northern fringes of Asia, particularly in Japan. While not as big as Brown bears, they are big and strong enough to cause injury and death to human beings.

Japanese authorities have confirmed that they have seen an increase in the number of bear sightings in the area where the attack was reported, says Japan Today. They have also stepped up patrols in the area so incidents like this are not repeated.

Looks like animals saving the life of children are becoming increasingly common nowadays. Last month, The Inquisitr had reported about a cat coming to the aid of a little boy attacked by a dog.

[Image Via Wikimedia Commons ]