It’s may seem like a cliche adage at this point to say that dogs are “man’s best friend,” except that these lovable creatures continue to render the statement woefully inadequate. The latest very good boy is Pete, a foster dog who died bravely protected his family from a black bear while on a hike. Twitter user Ben White tweeted out a message about Pete’s heroism and subsequent passing, with many Twitter users reaching out to offer their condolences and praise of the furry friend.

So our friends lost their sweet setter Pete today. He and some other dogs surprised a black bear while on a hike. Pete bravely protected the rest of the crew who got to safety. Pete later succumbed to his injuries. He was an older guy and went out a true hero. RIP PETE THE HERO! pic.twitter.com/a3W5q9DHbc — Ben White (@morningmoneyben) February 12, 2018

Rest easy good boy ❤️ https://t.co/CwZkQLKCLr — Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) February 12, 2018

I’m literally crying dogs are amazing. If u want to cry even more look at @mmspets page. Pete and a whole bunch of dogs would always go on adventures together :( https://t.co/k1rcImRg0j — jessica bob (@jessicab0b) February 12, 2018

Good Boy! Sleep tight Pete the Hero. https://t.co/6qwREslf2u — Roche (@Roche25) February 12, 2018

Pete’s foster family, Instagram users @mmspets, elaborated, telling Pete’s story in greater detail:

“Today we lost our brave, old man Pete. The dogs surprised a black bear just off the trail while we were hiking this morning. It must not have heard or smelled us with the pouring rain. It felt threatened and turned around. Pete stepped up and held off the bear until I could get the other dogs to safety. Once I was sure they were safe, I went back and scared the bear off, but Pete was gravely injured. I was able to get him back down to the main trail and, thanks to Cathi and Kate, we were able to get him in a car and to the hospital pretty quickly. He held on like a real trooper the whole time, and he was never alone in his pain. The x-rays revealed some pretty bad spinal damage that would mean he could never walk again, if he survived all the surgeries (not a certain thing at his age). We decided it was best to let him go this afternoon. Run free Pete, you no longer have all those aches and pains of old age. You had a great 18 months with us running the days away like you loved.”

Pete leaves behind a pack of fellow adopted dogs, and plenty of proof that they were an adventurous bunch.

Go hug your pets. Life’s too short for anything less.