'Pongo had it handled before I could even react': Woman walking her 4.5-month-old poodle puppy is suddenly grabbed by an attacker, but Pongo lunges forward and refuses to back down until the man runs away

Ayala Sorotsky • Writer and Editor

Jul 1, 2026 10:45 AM EDT

Bravery is instilled in every dog, no matter what type of dog they are.

We can't express our amazement at how brave and loyal dogs are. But the thing is that when we think of a "brave and loyal dog", the first picture that springs to mind is that of a proud German Shepherd, for example. Or maybe a big Rottweiler, standing like a wall of protection, or a fierce Pit Bull with a strong aura. The last thing you imagine saving a woman in danger is a poodle puppy, merely 4.5 months old. But, lo and behold, Pongo - the poodle puppy of one woman on the r/poodles community - did exactly that.

Every dog can be brave, strong, and loyal to their humans. And Pongo is one fluffy, curly, and cute testimony to that. While there are many stories of dogs defending their humans from danger, some people tend ot forget that this is a truth shared amongst all dogs. Even a small Chihuahua might try and defend their human fiercely if they fear they are in danger - the doggo defence instincts are there, regardless of the dog's size, breed, and general demeanor. So it's really no wonder we keep them as our ultimate BFFs for millennia.

What we do hope for, though, is that this bravery won't be necessary. Sure, it's honestly amazing to report a poodle running right to save the woman who raises him. But the fact that she was attacked in the first place is disheartening. We don't like to think we live in a world where women can just be attacked like that, randomly, while walking their dogs. For this one woman it ended happily, with her dog standing guard between her and the attacker, who ran off. But we can never know how it would end if Pongo, the brave poodle, were not there to take action.

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Just by looking at his picture, we admit we could never imagine Pongo leaping to defend anyone, really. But dogs never cease to surprise us with how absolutely loyal and brave they are. True, these are dog instincts that were developed intentionally by humans for thousands of years, but when they show themselves - it's really impressive. It makes us think of all the times dogs saved people over the years of this human-doggo friendship, and we can't be more grateful for our doggo friends.
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